E 475 
.53 
.B87 
Copy 1 



FOREWORD 




HIS narrative is written from the viewpoint of the motorist traveling west along the 

central section of the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania, the direction in which prob- 

ably the largest number approach Gettysburg. Tourists coming from the other 

principal directions need only to somewhat adjust their first angles of observation 

to enter into and follow with equal advantage the development of the subject here presented. 

Lee's invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania m the summer of 1863 was a political and mil- 
itary event of first importance, and Gettysburg was its culmination. Before the battle which 
took place there has passed from the memory of living men, the field has been made a great na- 
tional memorial to the soldiers of the North and South; and Ciettysburg has become possibly 
the most important inland touring center in the United States, large cities of course excepted. 

The movements of the Army of the Potomac from Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville to 
Gettysburg, covering a period of more than six months, have been sketched without reference to 
the military operations in the South and West during that time. Generally speaking, those dis- 
tant campaigns are of less relative interest to one traveling through Pennsylvania than to the 
student, whose more convenient leisure is not interrupted by immediate objectives. The motor 
tourist making even a brief stop to look over the Gettysburg Battlefield has an exceptional op- 
portunity to make a personal study of an important chapter of history, which may be supple- 
mented to advantage by a later study of standard references for related or overlapping campaigns, 
and a strict chront)l()gical order of events through the wider zone of warfare during that period. 

No attempt has been made to give an exhaustive account of the battle, single phases of which, 
and even the parts played by individual regiments, have been expanded into volumes. The 
strictly military reader and the student of tactics will find elsewhere critical discussions, analyses 
of movements, enumerations of participating corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, etc., in which 
even minute points have been amply treated. A correct general idea or picture of the military 
operations, the main reasons therefor and the results therefrom, usually with the topographical 
background, brought within the limits of the average tourist's stay at Gettysburg, has been the 
aim. 

After careful deliberation, and comparisons of views, it has been considered best to leave the 
visitor free to traverse the battle area in the most convenient way, the direction being traveled, 
time of arrival and general schedules varying too much in individual cases to make practicable 
the use of this narrative as an itinerary. When a guide is employed, his suggestions as to the 
best way to see the battlefield, allowing for individual circumstances, will usually be of practical 
use. For those with ample leisure, who may desire more extensive views of the entire field, and a 
better knowledge of the topography of the section than can be secured from the highways, the 
six observation towers, located at strategic points, offer facilities of unusal advantage. 

The old, historic and very interesting route from Philadelphia through Downingtovvn, Coates- 
ville. Lancaster, Columbia, York, Gettysburg, Chambersburg, Bedford and Greensbiirg to Pitts- 
burgh, is covered in a special volume, the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania, obtainable from the 
author. 

July 1, 1920. R. B. 



Copyrighted 1020, by Robert Bri 



On November 19, 1863, the cemetery :it Gettysburg was dedicated, furnishing the occasion for 
President Lincohi's Gettyslnirg Address. Ihe "brief remarks," intended then principally to add offi- 
cial character to the program, composed largely of a long and able address by Edward Everett, have 
become as widely known as the battle. Practically from that time to this, the work of enlarging, im- 
proving and marking the field has been going on, until nearly the whole area covered in the three day's 
tight has been made a National memorial to the soldiers of the North and South. 




SOLDIERS' NAnONAI. MONUMENT TO All. RIIGUI.AR COMMANDS, NATIONAL CEMETERY. GETTYSBURG 



Ericlid in ISO*>, on the cxnct spot where Abrah.-ini Lincoln dtlivcriil ihc Gtltysburg Address, NovcnibiT I'), l8o3; vie 
Sl.ilc monument. The small stones in rows on the leri-hnnd side of the picture represent graves of unidentified soldier 



Ironi top of New \orV 



"Nor shall ibeir lalor he forgot 
While fame her record keeps." 

OCT -6 ;320 



©CI,Ao76772 



I with iincovcrcd head 
S.iluti- the sacnd dead 
\\ ho went, and rctiirnid nut. — Lowell. 



Gettysburg 



Approarln'iKj I he loirn Jmtu (he cast over Ike Lincoln Highivay — Preliminaries 
to the study of the locality and Battlejield 



Looking ahead from the downgrade by which 
Gettysburg is approached from the east, the tour- 
ist observes the outlines of what would seem to 
be an ordinary inland Pennsylvania town of some- 
what imder 5,000, except for two very marked 
features, its road system and the peculiar topo- 
graphy immediately south of it. Four basic high- 
ways or pikes lead straight outward from the square 
at the center, while others diverge at well-defined 
angles a short distance from it, and extend m all 
the principal directions. The street system ot 
the town resembles a great checker-board of ir- 
regidar shape, from all sides and ends of which 
long straight lines have been drawn far outward. 
Gettysburg is possibly the greatest road center of 
its size in the United States, a fact made all the 
more conspicuous by its location off from mam 
hnes of radway travel. 

No physical features along the route we have 
been following attract particular attention; nor 
are any observed to the north ot it. Cilancing 
ahead — over the top of Gettysburg — this high- 
way, as it starts toward South Mountain and 
Chambersburg, appears like a narrow white band 
or streamer laid down carefully upon and drawn 
tightly across the rolling landscape whose minor 
details are gradually obscured in the distant ht)ri- 
zon. A totally different scene is presented only 
a short distance south of where our route is soon 
to pass through the town. 

The essential, most striking features of the lo- 
cality are seen while approaching Gettysburg 
from this direction, perhaps three or tour miles 
before reaching the lower levels Lipon which it is 
situated. South of the town (and the highway), 
there begin to rise almost at once a series or group 
ot bluffs and hillocks, which command the sur- 
rounding country for observation purposes, and 
make defenses of great natural strength. Trend- 
ing at first almost due north-and-south, just west 
ot them, IS Seminary Ridge, the nearest of several 
minor ranges forming an intermediate stage be- 
tween the rolling highlands which extend west- 
ward from the Susquehanna to this section, and 
the steeper grades a few miles farther west. 

farther down, however, Seminary Ridge is 
drawn slightly eastward in a way to form a rough 
curve, resembling a bended wrist. Just east of 
that curve, and protected by it on the west, is 
Big Round lop, a rocky, wooded peak, of which 
Little Round lop, a tritle farther north, is a spur. 
This unusual bit of topography has been com- 
pared by several writers to a fish-hook, whereon 
Gulp's Hill rises as a barb along the back of Gem- 
etery Hill, while Gemetery Ridge forms the shank, 
terminating, east of the curve, in the big and little 
"round tops. " 1 hese topographical features and 
the highways are keys to a correct understanding 



of the military movements leading up to the bat- 
tle of Gettysburg, and the conflict itself. 

Reference Books, Maps and Guides 

Tourists running toward Gettysburg, and stop- 
ping overnight in a city or town en route with 
even a fair library will find it advantageous to re- 
fresh their memories bv examining pages 226-246 
of Rhodes' "History of the Givil War (1917)," 
or pages 354-369 of Schouler's "History of the 
United States," Vol. 6, both of which go into con- 
siderable details. For a short, clear exposition, 
cimsult pages L36-141 of Theodore Dodge's com- 
pact "Bird's-Eye View of the Civil War," stu- 
dent's edition. 

The "Story of the Givil War," by John C. 
Ropes, continued by Gol. W\ R. Livermore, in 4 
volumes (the last one of which. Book 2 of Part 3, 
includes the Gettysburg campaign), is complete, 
well arranged and minutely indexed. Its numer- 
ous maps are admirable, and its critical comments 
useful to the close student, though the detail is 
too great tor the limited time of the average 
tourist. 

Anyone who may care to study the topography 
with still greater care may order in advance from 
Washington the Gettysburg and Fairfield sheets 
of the U. S. Geological Survey. The street map 
on pages 16-17, in connection with the special one 
of the battlefield on page 5, may prove sufficient 
for ordinary use when passing through with only 
a brief stop. For complete details, with an abun- 
dance of maps, it would still be necessary to reter 
to the Official Records, the munificent provision 
of the Government for historical investigators and 
close students of this and related subjects. 

The motorist entering the battlefield area from 
any of the principal directions is likely to be met 
bv one or more guides who solicit the opportunity 
to show the party about the town and battlefield. 
Especially when time is short, it may be advan- 
tageous to employ one of them, agreeing in ad- 
vance as to the route of observation, time to be 
spent, fees and the like. Paragraph 26, Regula- 
tions for the National Military Parks, provides 
that, "No persons shall be permitted to offer their 
services or act as guides unless licensed for that 
purpose by the Commissioners thereof." All ap- 
plicants are examined by the Commission, and 
must make an average of 75% in order to secure 
a license. 

Last Stretch Into Gettysburg 

One has hardly more than time to catch the 
general situation at a distance before noticing, on 
the left, the first historic marker in this locality. 
Though the battlefield is still a considerable dis- 
tance ahead, its related activities extended this 



3 



Gettysburg 




n»,h,l,omi„llxJn„K ,'..., . ,,.„ ,.,,. 

TAHI l-TON SITF. <)I- CllNlUiAl . Ill-I D IIOSI>ll AI 

I-irst marker (l^j-mllis bifori- r.-.uhini; Om.-r Sc|uarc) s.-.n l>v lli. 
\vi-5llK,unil tourist running int.. Gi-ttysburi! Ironi York. On llu- tiibl.l 
is a list i>f tin- lifltl hospitals ol ihc cipht corps participating in the three 
.lay's fight 

tar casrwarti along tlie ^ mk Piki-. A w iiK- up- 
right piicc ot graniti-, with a imtal tahlct tacmg 
the ri)acl, inilicatcs the location ol Camp Letter- 
man, the general field hospital. Medical Corps, 
Army of the Potomac, during the hattle. 

It was named after Jonathan Letterman, Med- 
ical Director of that army, anil was situated in 
the "hospital woods," just outside the zone of 
military operations. 1 he woods have disap- 
peared, and the country here is now entirely open. 
This h()S|)ital, in co-operation with seven siihor- 
dinate ones for infantry and one for cavalry, cared 
for ahout 20,000 Union and Confederate officers, 
soldiers and cavalrymen during and after the 
hattle. 

1 he motorist stopping to reatl the tablet uill 
ohtain a concrete idea of the total casualties be- 
fore reaching the central section, just south of 
which the principal fighting took place. .'\ short 
distance beyonil, the Western Maryland comes 
close to the right-hand side of the road, and con- 
tinues nearly jiarallel to the business center. 
During the war this was the only railroad to enter 
Gettysburg; it was then known as the Gettysburg 
& Hanover, and did nor go farther west. The 
present name was given to it when a through 
route was developed from ^'ork and Ciett\sl>nig 
to Hagerstown, connecting with the original line 
from Baltimore. 



Entering Gettysburg, one crosses Rock Creek, 
flowing southward past the eastern edge of the 
town, to form the general eastern boimdar\' of the 
battlefield. This stream flows into the .Mono- 
cacy, and that into the Potomac above Harpers 
l''err\. W I- are now in the watershed of that river. 
On the opposite side of the Gettysburg High 
.School, prominently '>n our left, the Hanover 
Roail comes into ^'ork St., a short run along which 
bungs one to the eastern side ol the square, CJet- 
t\slniio. 

Hrii-is .Aiiot'i' rm-: Town and l.ocAi.rrv 

i'revious to 1S6.^, Gettysburg was known princi- 
pally as the "County town," located in a fertile 
agiuiiltural country, settled by thrifty people 
from the older counties in the eastern part of the 
State, with considerable numbers from Ireland, 
Scotland, I'.ngland anil (lermany. After more 
than 50 years since the place itself has been al- 
most eclipsed by the battlefiekl whose name it 
took, one examines with curious interest the "Ge- 
(igrapln of PennsyKania" ( Philadilphia, 1S43), 
to find Ciettysburg gi\en scarcely more mention 
than New O.xford or Hanover, its population 
was then about 2,(XX); and the only buildings 
noted were the Adams Co. Court House, Penn- 
sylvania College and Lutheran Theological Sem- 
inary. 

A comprehensive system of turnpikes had been 
developed, however, the results of which are read- 
ily seen today. A project had also been under- 
taken to extend the Philadelphia &: Columbia 
R. R., then in operation between those points, 
through ^ ork and Gettysburg, to the partly fin- 
ished C. &; O. Canal near W ilhamsport, .Mary- 
land, and also to the H. & O. R. R. at Martins- 
burg, then in \ irginia, now West \ irginia. Sub- 
sequently that route was divided between the 
Western Maryland and Cumberland \'alley rail- 
roads, connecting this section with Hagerstown 
and the Shenandoah valley. 

Sixty or more years ago, Gettysburg was a con- 
siderable manufacturing center for the time, while 
its location near extensive forests of oak, hickory, 
pine, ash and poplar developed a large lumber 
industry, now almost a thing of the past. Many 
Conestoga wagons, patterned after the staunch 
vehicles originated a short distance south of this 
route through Lancaster County, were built in 
this or surrounding villages. 

It is said that whereas most of those from the 
Conestoga country went to Pittsburgh or beyond 
the Ohio river, those manufactured in Gettysburg 
found their principal sale in Maryland and \'ir- 
ginia. The earliest commercial aHiliations of this 
section were with points south rather than with 
those west, somewhat because most of the first 
travel and emigration from Philadelphia, Lan- 
caster and Columbia passed on to the Cumber- 
land valley and the western |>arts of the State 
through what is now Harrisburg, instead of 
through here. 

Gettysburg is located farther south than the 
tirst-time visitor is liki 1\ to imagine. I he .Marv- 



Gettysburg 



hind boundary, coinciding tlitrc with the Mason 
and Dixiin hne, is only about 9 miles away as the 
crow flics. It is only about 55 miles by highway 
through Littlestown and Westminster to Balti- 
more, and less than 86 miles over the indirect 
route through Emmitsburg, Frederick and Ridge- 
ville to Washington. 

In its course westward from \ Ork, the highway 
makes a long gradual bend southward, reaching 
its greatest deviation from the direct line at Get- 
tysburg, and almost immediately thereafter it be- 
gins a corresponding northward bend toward 
Chambersburg and Bedford. 1 hough thishigh- 
v\ay and the main line of the Pennsylvania R. R. 
are to come together again at Greensburg, less 
than 150 miles farther west, the latter is at the 



corresponding point following the Juniata river 
west from Harrisburg fully 50 air-line miles north 
of Gettysburg. The distance covered by Lee's 
army in its invasion of Maryland and Pennsyl- 
vania during the summer of 1863, and particu- 
larly on its retreat after the battle, is less than 
ordinarily supposed. 

Ibis locality was the ancestral home ot the 
Studebaker family. The late J. M. Studebaker, 
Sr., son of a country blacksmith, was born Octo- 
ber 10, 1833, a few miles north of Gettysburg. 
He learned his trade, including, no doubt, the 
"setting" of tires on stage-coaches and freight- 
wagons, in this section, from which he emigrated 
to California in the early days of the gold excite- 
ment. There he accumulated enough capital, 




OF THE 

GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD 

Prepared bylheGetlysburl National Pa"k Commission 

Col. John P Nicholson .CtiairmdP 

LTCoI.E.B.Cope, Engineer. 



^^^ Redrawn on reduced scale by arrangement 
'^ wilh the Commission 



Gettysburg 



largely h\ making wheelliarrows tor mimrs, rn 
inahle him to move to Soiirh Rind, Indiana, and 
with his hrothir lay thr foimdarions tor tht- larg- 
est individual wagon hiisiniss in the world. 

Mr. Studehakir died in Mareh, 1917. after 
having witnessed the evolution ot road trans- 
portation from the C'onestoga wagon, .iveraging 
perhaps four or five miles an hour with the average 
load, to passenger and freight motor vehieles. 

loiinsts passing through (Jettyshiirg often ask 
for directions to the old Studehaker homestead. 
A correspondent residing in the localit\' sends 
them in brief terms as follows: "From (lettvs- 
hiirg. go north S miles on the Harrishurg Road; 
at the Schriver farm, turn right 1 mile to Hunt- 
erstown. From the si]uare, I limterstown. con- 
tinue north 2 miles to fork, where take the right- 
hand road. The Studeiiaker homestead, no lon- 
ger standing, was the first huilding on that road." 
1 he harn and the original Studehaker forge, the 
genesis ot the great Inisiness now long estaMisiieii 
under that name, stood for some time aftt r tin- 
house was torn down; hut ;di of the innldiiigs 
have since disappeared. 

SURVEY' OF Mll.l r\m Ol'KR.VriONS 
CULMINA'llNC; Al (iK I lASHUKC 

Having become acciuaintcd witii the general 
situation (if (jett\sburg and environs on the way 
into the town from any one of the principal di- 
rections, the tourist will find it ;idvantageous to 
review the piincip;il movements of the northern 
and .southern ;irmies from December lS(i2 to |une 
1863, inclusive. 1 li;it will connect the leailing 
events in logical order. ;md give a correct perspec- 
tive. 1 he (lettysburg viewpoint might ;ippro- 
priately be called a survey from the heights, r;ik- 
ing in the whole area. 

Phat the fighting took place here, rather than 
where either Meade or Lee had expected, more as 
a m;itter of chance than of forethought or plan, 
will subsequently appear. But such ;i meeting of 
the principal forces on both sides, with ;i supreme 
test ot arms, w;is t\u- logical result of tin- military 
operations which |>ieceded it. 

Let the southern Pennsylvani;i fields and hill- 
sides fade temporarily into the background, while 
the mind's eye sweeps southward about l,i,^ ;iir- 
lint- miles, across both the Mason and Di.xon Line 
and the Potomac, to the banks of the Rappah;in- 
nock river in old \ irginni, not f;ir from the home- 
land of (leorge W;ishington. The (lettvsburg 
campaign started from there. 

.'\t Fredericksburg, December l.\ lSf)2, niarl\ 
UX),(XK) I'ederal troops made repeated ass;iulfs 
upon about 75,(X)() Confederates, protected bv 
strong detenses. which Lee had thrown up on the 
south side of that ii\(r. Rurnside. recently 
placed in command of the Army of the Potomac, 
superseding McClellan. came out of that "fier\- 
holiday" with a loss of about l.i.CHX) men. in the 
proportion of 5 to 2 of the Confederates. .As a 
result, his army was more disorg;mi7.ed than at 
any other time during the war; and Lincoln passed 
through some trying, melancholy tiays. 




MAKKI l; U) Nil , ;l. I'l Ws'i 1 \.\M V I \ , ■. , i, , , i ww MiY 
KIIX.I . lUIIOKI) A\ 1- . Cl-.rnhKUKl. UAl 11 l-lllll) 



Conserving his strength and his men. while 
Burnside was spending both with prodigality, 
Lee emerged from Fredericksburg relatively the 
victor. Ihe difference in casualties had to some 
extent removed the earlier disparity in numbers; 
;ind the moral advantage was on the Confederate 
side. .A considerable number of Federal enlist- 
ments were ;ilso near expiration. 

Burnside was superseded b\' Hooker, who dur- 
ing the remainder of the winter recuperated and 
strengthened his army for the spring campaign of 
1<S6.^. But m the military operations which came 
to ;i he;id ;it Chancellorsville, May 2-5, the Army 
of the Potom;ic was out-mand'iivered, out- 
m;irched ;ind out-fought by the Army of Northern 
\ uiiinui, under the leiider who had been with it 
continuously since June }. 1862. Lee succeeded 
(len. Joseph E. Johnston, who was wounded at 
the battle of F;iir ();iks, on the Peninsula; and re- 
iiKiined with it until the end ;it .Appomattox, 
during which period the Arm\ of the Potomac 
w;is under 4 comm;mders. 



Win 



1.1 I IWADI l> n NNSVI.V.iiNI.'V 



riieii, if ever in that conflict, the issue was in 
doubt. Lee, whose first inv;ision of Maryland, 
the September before, culmin;ired in the battle 
of Anrietam, followed b\ his return into \ irginia, 
now phmned a longer, far more haz;irdous north- 
ern c;imp:iign, hut with far greater advantages to 
the southern c;iuse in case it should prove success- 
ful. This w;is the crossing of Maryhind and the 
invasion of central Penns\lv:inia along the gen- 
er:il line of the Blue Ridge. 

West of that r;inge, the Cumberland valley of- 
fered ;m open door from Hagerstown, Md., north- 
east to Cireencasrle, I'hamberslniri;. C';irlisle ;ind 



Gettysburg 




hy CeoTge W. Kelt /ni 



UNIQLH \l()Ml\ll M TO THE "Oth INFANTRY, VOL.. 
0\K nil I, CEMETER^■ 

HaiTisburg, which might be hiid under tribute, in 
money and badiv needed supplies. On the east- 
ern side t)f the range, reached through convenient 
passes, were York, Columbia, Lancaster and other 
|irosperous cities and villages of the Keystone 
State, a rich and fertile country, traversed by the 
majestic Susi]uehanna. Baltimore. Wilmington 
and Philadelphia, all within striking distance ot a 
large southern army once east of the Blue Ridge, 
might be threatened if not actually taken. 

A successful northern campaign might at least 
force an unwilling recognition of the Confederacy. 
Some ot the European nations, already half-in- 
clined to recognize and possibly assist it, were 
watching the progress both of military and polit- 
ical events. Such a campaign would probably 
also hinder the Federal government dispatching 
more troops to Grant, then conducting the siege 
of Vicksburg, while the close proximity of the in- 
vading army to Washington would be the best 
check against any large force being sent mean- 
while against Richmond. 

<■ The Confederate Movement Northward 

On June 3, 1863, Lee advanced Longstreet's 
corps from the south side of the Rappahannf)ck 
(Fredericksburg) toward Culpeper, in the neigh- 
borhood of which Stuart's fleet, long-ranging 
cavalry had already assembled. This started a 
train of events of which the third day at Gettys- 
burg, exactly a month later, was the culmination. 
On the Sth and 6th, Ewell's corps followed over 
the same route, these two ot the three grand divis- 
ions of Lee's army reaching Culpeper on the Sth. 
The third corps, under A. P. Hill, was kept back in 
the defenses at Fredericksburg while the Army of 
the Potomac, under Hooker, remained on the op- 



posite side of the Rappahannock. 

lo break up or at least restrict the operations 
ot Stuart's cavalry. Hooker sent Pleasonton's 
cavalry and two brigades of infantry against him 
over a shorter route than that followed by the 
main body of Confederates. This resulted in the 
battle of Brandy Station, named from the nearest 
point on the Orange & Alexandria R. R. of that 
time, now part of the main line of the Southern 
Railway below Washingtf)n. Ihoiigh the Fed- 
eral casualties in this engagement were greater 
than those of the Confederates, due partly to an 
attempted concentration of forces at a point 
toLmd more strongly occupied than expected, the 
Federal cavalry, theretofore considered inferior 
to southern horsemen, showed their mettle, and 
gained prestige in the estimation both of their ad- 
versaries and of the northern people. Hence- 
forth they fought on equal terms with the mount- 
ed Confederates. 

1 he battle of Brandy Station tlid not seriously 
impede Lee's northward movement; but it was 
unquestionably a factor in his decision to choose 
the longer route through the Luray and Shenan- 
doah valleys to the Potomac river crossings, in- 
stead ot skirting the eastern bases of the Blue 
Ridge, screened by Stuart's cavalry, whose su- 
periority had now been challenged. On the 10th, 
Ewell's corps left Culpeper C. H., crossing the 
Blue Ridge through Manassas Gap, and the Shen- 
andoah river near Front Royal, Va. One of his 
divisions was now detached and sent to dislodge 
the small Federal garrison at Berryville, on the 
Winchester-Charles I own-Hagerstown route, and 
cut off Federal communications between the Shen- 
andoah and Potomac valleys, both of which ob- 
jects were quickly accomplished. 

Across Maryland into Pennsylvania 

When, soon afterward, Winchestec and Mar- 
tinsburg were taken by Ewell's main column, the 
Federals were driven from that section, with the 
exception of Harpers Ferry, at the junction of the 
Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. Without stop 
to attack the strong Union garrison there, Ewell 
passed rapidly around to the south and west of it. 
The Confederate forces were now extended along 
a line of approximately 100 miles from the Rap- 
pahannock through the Blue Ridge mountains 
and the northern Shenandoah valley nearly to the 
Potomac crossings, which caused Lincoln to make 
the shrewd suggestion to Hooker that, as the ani- 
mal must be "very slim somewhere," ir might be 
possible to "break him." 

But Hooker, better in preparing an army lor a 
fight, or in actual ct)mbat, than in mantruvers, 
and charged with the responsibility of protecting 
Washington, withdrew toward that city, fearing 
that if he followed Ewell and Longstreet, A. P. 
Hill's corps might come north of the Rappahan- 
nock, turn his right flank and threaten it. [here- 
upon. Hill started toward the Shenandoah and 
the Potomac, to add his strength to Lee's more 
advanced divisions, leaving Hooker far to the 
east. En route, Hill passed Longstreet's corps, 



Gettysburg 



which thioiiRh inti-ntionally tlivrrrinii iiiaiKru- 
\eis alonf; tlic eastern sidi- ot the Wuv Ridjic had 
ilroppcd hack troni second to third place. 

The three iirand divisions of the Confederate 
army were then following a nortiiwesterly direc- 
tion. Preceded hv cavalrv hrigades w hich daniaf;etl 
the \i. & (). R. K' and C' & C). Canal, interriiprinK 
comniiinicarion, tians|-)ortation and sujiphes hoiii 
points west into Washington anil i?altimore, I.ee 
crossed the Potomac at \\ illiamsport, Md., rested 
for awliile at Hajjerstow n, and then continueil to 
Chamhershiirc. Stuart's ca\alry was left on the 
Virginia side to watch llookir, and ohstriict his 
likely attempt to foll.iw tin Confederates, while 
Earlv's division was detached from i'.wiirs coips 




;)rin( supplied liy (ietlyihujf: \uti(miil I'ark C.< 

MAJOR-GEN. GEORGE GORDON MEADE 

CommiiiulInK \\k Union fnrcis :it CcUy-lnirK A n.ilivi- ..f IVnnsyl- 

soon after it entereil Pennsylvania, and sent o\ir 
the short-cut through (lettyslmig and ^()lk to 
the Susquehanna. 

(iAiHi KING ot Forces at (iEr'i"s siu kg 

Hooker now Ingan to move northward, cross- 
ing the Potomac at Point of Rocks, Nolans Ferry 
and Filwards Ferry (all of which were between 
Williamspoi t, where the Confederates had cross- 
ed, antl the Federal capital), to a great con- 
centration at Frederick, Marxland. He was 
then exchanging messages with (Jen. Halleck, at 
Washington, endeavoring to have added to his 
forces the 1(),(XX) men then in garrison at Harper's 
Ferry, entirely out of the zone of operations so 
long as all of Lee's army should he in .Maryland 



or Pennsylvania. Halleck declining to transfer 
those troops to the Army of the Potomac, Hooker 
resigned, and was succeeded by Meade on Jime 
2Sth, only three days before the battle of Gettys- 
burg was to begin. 

Instead of watching the Army of the Potomac, 
hindering its progress, and reporting develop- 
ments to Lee, Stuart's cavalry had crossed the 
Potomac only a few miles west of Washington, 
and proceeded into Pennsylvania, expecting to 
join the main Confederate army in the Cumber- 
land valley, somewhere between Chambersburg 
and Harrisburg. IJut when, shortly afterward, 
l^ee found it necessary to bring his scattered forces 
together, Stuart was out of communication; and 
he was kept in ignorance of Hookers movements 
longer than might otherwise have been the case. 
Stuart, in a long fatiguing circuit through several 
Pennsylvania counties, collected vast quantities 
of provisions; but meanwhile his chief was at great 
dis;idv;int;ige for hick of the more important ser- 
vice he was depended upon to render. 

As soon as Lee le;irned the position of the Un- 
ion forces, in one ;irmy, moving northward, he 
loosed his hold upon the .Sus(|ueh;inn;i. Karly 
w;is ordered back over the same route he had fol- 
lowed e;ist of Ciettysburg, H)well and Hill brought 
their divisions south or east, as then locations and 
the n;iture of the intervening country permitted, 
;ind l.ongstreet jirepared to movt- his corps east- 
ward over the Ch;imbersburg Pike. 1 his (]uick 
concentration, for the purpose of meeting with his 
full strength the approaching Army of the Poto- 
mac, undoubtedly sa\ed H;irrisburg from falling 
into the hands oj the * "onfetieriites. 

The supri-me cuish ot arms was impending, but 
neither comm;mding general knew where it would 
fake |ilace. Lee planned to hght at Cashtown, 
a short S miles along our route west of (lettysbiirg, 
where South Mountain is crossed through a low- 
pass. From there, if victorious, he would have 
moved into eastern Pennsylvania; ox. it defeated, 
he could still go back into the Cumberland valley, 
down which his lines of communication and sup- 
plies extended across the Potomac into Virginia. 

Meade, coming up from Frederick through 
Taneytown, had tentatively chosen the heights 
along Pipe creek (in Maryland about Li miles 
south of (lettysburg), as a favorable battle-ground. 
His plan, ;is interpreted by military critics, was to 
drive with full force between Hill ;ind Fwell, he- 
tore their corps could unite, or Longstreet come 
to their aid. He would either bring on a battle 
by such ni;m(i'uvers, or draw the Confederates on 
and fall b;ick iqion Pipe creek. Neither com- 
manding gener;il w ;is at (lettysburg w hen the en- 
gagement started, Meaile being some miles south 
of the town with his main column, and l>ee with 
Longstreet's corps at Chambersburg. 

Olti.inks ok rnK First Day's Baitik 

Ihus the three widely-sep:irated corps of the 
Confederate ;irmy were movint; e:ist, west and 
south to a converging point, which h;ippened to 
be ( lettNsbuig, meeting phice of m;iiiy pikes. 



Gettysburg 



With a front extending almost from Westmmster 
through Taneytown to Emmitsburg, in Mary- 
land, the whole Army of the Potomac was moving 
northward along the main road. Maj.-Gen. 
John F. Reynolds, commanding the Federal left, 
advanced Buford's cavalry north and west ot the 
main body to the Chambersburg Pike, just west of 
Gettysburg, where the conflict began. 

Meeting there Heth's division, Hill's corps of 
Confederate infantry, marching east to join Ew- 
eil's still separated divisions, Buford dismounted 
his men and put up a hard preliminary fight, mis- 
leading Heth to believe that the Federal infantry, 
still far behind, had come up in force CaleFs 
Battery A, 2nd U. S. Artillery, Gamble's cavalry 
brigade, hred the first shot sometime between 
7:30 and 8:30 A. M. (authorities give both figures), 
on July 1st. 

Riding up the Emmitsburg Road, ahead of his 
corps, to the center of the town, Reynolds turned 
west at once on the Chambersburg Pike and found 
Buford in the cupola of the Lutheran Theological 
Seminary, from which the movements of forces 
could be observed to advantage. Taking in the 



whole situation, Reynolds realized that the mo- 
mentous conflict was on. He and Buford, carry- 
ing out his plans, brought on the battle at that 
time and place. 

Leaving Buford to hold back Heth's stronger 
forces as long as possible, while Meade was com- 
ing up, Reynolds rode back into the town. On 
the wav he noted the strategic importance ot East 
Cemetery Hill, and determined to occupy it as 
soon as enough men could be spared for the pur- 
pose. Then he started down the Emmitsburg 
Road, soon meeting Meredith's "Iron Brigade" 
and Cutler's brigade of infantry, the two com- 
prising Wadsworth's division of Reynolds' own 
corps. To send them quickly to the relief of Bu- 
ford's hard-pressed cavalry, he turned these brig- 
ades westward to, and then north along Seminary 
Ridge, to the Chambersburg Pike, placing one of 
them on either side of it, somewhat west of that 
ridge. 

A short time after Reynolds had returned to the 
battle west of the town, while sitting on his horse 
along the east side of McPherson's woods, looking 
anxiously toward the south for reinforcements 



i 





Ttpton, Cfttyshurg 



PENNSYLVANIA STATE MEMORIAI . GETI'^i SBURG BATTLEFIELD 



Located on Hancock Ave. in llic large angle loniied by Pieasonlon and Hump 
from the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Comniissinn. lor the Common\ve: 
Edwin S. Stuart, of Pennsylvania. In bronze lelleri,. ar.mnd or about the ba 
of the Keystone State, who was at Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1803 



ireys avenues, along the li 
th, and dedicated Septen 
; of this memorial, is the i 



.■ofthe third day's battle. 
er 27, 191U. with an addrcs 
me of every soldier, officer < 



Accepted 
s by Gov. 
T private. 



Gettysburg 




On the cast slope of Seminary KitlEc a sliorl li 
took place in the vicinity of this building, which 



u\ I) I uriii.uAN si;minai<'>. (;l■.•|'T^sBUK(; bath i-.iiiu ii 

aft" 



Ihc I inc.ln Ilinhwav (Chanibersl)urg Pike 
' )ilal. "Note Confederate '' 



icK of the first day's fiKhting 
irks in the belfry 



then t)n the way. he was shot through the head, 
fell from his horse and died almost instantly. 
[Col. Livermore says that Reynolds was shot while 
placing Meredith's "Iron Brigade" in position 
along McPherson's woods.] 

Reynolds was considered the most populai gen- 
eral in the Army of the Potomac, whose chiet com- 
mand it is understood rluit he declined, feeling 
that anyone in that capacity would he hampered 
hy long-range interference from Washington. I K 
had heen the ranking Federal officer in tin pn- 
liminaries and during the first stage of the battle, 
and his death was a great loss to the Union side. 

Lati;r Kvknts ok iiii Kiksi l)\^ 

The conflict along the fhamheisluirg Pike con- 
tinued until about 11 A. M.. and the casualties 
on both sides were heavy for the numbers en- 
gaged. Gradually the greater strength and larger 
reserves of the Confederate infantry enabled IKth 
to advance his front lines nearer (iettysburg. 
Several corps of the blue and the gray were then 
approaching the battlefield from various direc- 
tions, and taking their places in the struggle, now 
extending in area, and growing both in complexity 
and intensity. 

Doubleday, immediate successor to Reynolds, 
turned over the command, shortly before noon, 
to Howard, his senior in rank, who hatl arrived 
considerably ahead of his own corps, the 11th, 
which was then placed under Schurz. When that 
corps came up, two of its divisions were sent across 
the Chambersburg Pike anil drawn up in the angle 
of the Mummasburg and llarrisburg roads, to 
confront Kwell's regiments approaching from the 
north, while Steinwehr's division was left to hold 
Cemeterv Hill. The rest of the day was mainly 
a series of mano'uvers between fractions ot two 



still ui iMocess of assembling from 
ints ot the compass. In the course 



gre.it armi 

nearlv all 

lit the afternoon, the Union troops were cleared 

from the west side of Seminary Ridge. 

Lee, who during most of the forenoon was sev- 
eral miles west, and inclined to delay the general 
battle until a larger proportion of his forces could 
arri-e, was led by developments to come east to 
(iettysburg. He reached the battle area about 
the middle of the afternoon, and made hishead- 
ipiarters on the south side of the Chambersburg 
Pike about a mile west of the town. 

Flarly's division of Kwell's corps, after doubling 
back from ^ ork and W'rightsville, engaged Bar- 
low and other Federal troops stationed just north 
of (iettysburg. 1 he superior Confederate force 
dislodged the Federals, driving them across our 
route to the heights south of the town. 1 his dis- 
advantage was offset, at least in part, by new de- 
fensi\-e positions on Cemetery Hill and Culp's 
Hill, while their general situation was materially 
improved by the timely arrival of \\ illiams' di- 
vision, leading the right wing of the Union army, 
Slocum's 12th Corps, about 4 P. .\I. 

Records were not kept in the same manner for 
the northern and southern armies; anil some were 
lost. Livermiue estimates the Federal troops 
engaged the first day at 2.i,6(K), and the Confed- 
erates at 2S,S(X). Had both retired from the 
field on the night of July 1, the advantage would 
have been conceded to the southern forces, but 
their principal units were too much used up b\ 
marching and fighting to have delivered their ut- 
most strength on the next dav. Meanwhile, the 
northern forces had secured fairly strong posi- 
tions, which they were prepared to hold until the 
arrival of the main army would give them a pre- 
|Miiulerance in men and artillery. 



Gettysburg 



Last Federal Reserves en Route 

For awhile, in the swift course of events during 
the afternoon of the first day, Hancock, comman- 
der of the 2nd Corps, was in charge of the major 
operations on the Federal side. Hearing, while 
yet at I aneytown, of the death ot Reynolds, 
Meade sent Hancock up to Gettysburg, where he 
arrived about 3:30 P. M. and assumed command. 
With the assistance of Howard, he partudly 
checked the retreating Union troops, and formed 
a new sectional battle-tront on Cemetery Hill. 

He also looked caretullv over the whole situa- 
tion with Gen. Warren, chief engineer. Army of 
the Potomac, and concluded that the ground here 
could be held, against superior numbers, until the 
remaining corps were brought up during the night. 
Probably a message to that effect sent back to 
Meade removed any remaining doubt in the mind 
of the Commander-in-Chief as to Gettysburg be- 
ing the place to fight. 1 he problem then became 
one of gathering all available troops and arrang- 
ing them to best advantage for the next day. 

W hen Slocum, vyhose advance had already ar- 
rived, came up in person, sometime befi)re 6 P. M., 
Hancock relinquished the command to him. and 
started back to confer with Meade. In the early 
part of the night, his own corps, which left Taney- 
town about 1 :30 P. M., bivouacked for the night 
south of the town. During the next forenoon it 
was moved up to a position facing the Emmits- 
burg Road, south of Cemetery Hill where it was 
to form the main body of the Union forces which 
arrived and shattered Pickett's charge. 

Incidents ok the First Day's Fight 

Some incidents not found in the standard his- 
tories throw intimate light upon the personal side 
of the conflict. In a charge near McPherson's 
woods, the 151st Pennsylvania, 1st Brigade, Col. 
Biddle, Doubleday's 3rd Division, charged with 
446 men, losing 322 of them and IS commissioned 
officers in less than 20 minutes. This was more 
than the entire loss of the United States Army in 
actual battle during the Spanish-American war. 

Sergt. Crippen, color hearer of the 143d Penn- 
sylvania, refused to fall back when his regiment 
was forced to yield ground. He stood alone with 
the colors in one hand, and was killed while shak- 
ing the fist of the other at the Confederates. Hill 
remarked to an eye-witness. Col. F"remantle. a 
British officer on Lee's staff, that it was "a shame 
to kill such a brave Yankee." 

John Burns, an elderly resident of Gettysburg, 
came out of the field west of the town, on the 
morning of the first day, dressed in a blue swallow- 
tail coat adorned with brass buttons. He wore a 
tall hat, and brought powder and balls in his 
pockets. Burns appealed to Maj. Chamberlain, 
150th Pennsylvania, to allow him to join that 
regiment; but was advised by Col. Wister to go 
back into the woods and fire alone from behind a 
tree. This he did, and was three times wounded. 
A monument to Burns, with a large bronze tablet 
giving the circumstances, has been erected on the 
spot by the State of Pennsylvania. 



Col. H. S. Huidekoper, 150th Pennsylvania, 
was shot in the leg and fell to the ground in front 
of the McPherson house, but finding no bones 
broken, resumed the leadership of his men until 
they had repulsed seven charges, some from Hill's 
troops on the west and others from Daniel's on 
the north. Later in the fight he was put out of 
action, but nt)t until his arm, amputated two 
hours later, had been bound up and he had re- 
turned to his regiment. For distinguished gal- 
lantry on this occasion. Col. Huidekoper was 
awarded a medal of honor by Congress. This 
officer, one o( the commissioners for the building 
of the Pennsylvania State Memorial, died in 
Philadelphia in 191,^. 




<uli,l,„ Pbulu l,v L. W- Clark, Spun. N. C. 

■■c:it[Zi:n" john burns 

Only civilian soklicr at the- battle .,1 GcttyshurK, whurc he- wa« three 
times «..unded 

When Gen. John B. Gordon, of Georgia, charged 
with his men across Rock creek, and reached the 
summit of what is now officially known as "Bar- 
low's Knoll," he noticed a Union oflicer of high 
rank lying on the ground. Dismounting and 
finding it to be Gen. Francis C. Barlow, of New 
\'ork, he volunteered to do anything possible for 
him. Barlow expressed a wish that he might see 
his wife before his expected death. Gordon prom- 
ised, if possible, to communicate later through 
the Federal lines; and, remounting, followed his 
own troops. 

That night, Mrs. Barlow, staying at the head- 
quarters of the 11th Corps on Cemetery Hill, re- 
ceived a Communication under a flag of truce. 
Passing out of the Union lines into those of the 
Confederates, she found her husband still lying 
alive on the field. Mrs. Barlow had him removed 
to a house a short distance away where, ;ifterlong. 



Gettysburg 



careful nursing, he recovered. 

About twenty years afterward, the two riur at 
a banquet in \\ ashington; each had thought the 
other dead, and the meeting was an effecting one. 
Incidents hke these show not only the nietrli- of 
the American soldier, Init his courtesy to a fallen 
foe, ami the practically complete reconciliation 
that has taken place. Long after the war, (Jen. 
(lordon became (lovernor of (Jeorgia, and served 
as commander-in-chief of the United Confederate 
Veterans, 

Principal Evknts of thi-; Second Day 

By evening of the first day, practically all forces 
on both sides were either already at or approach- 
ing Gettysburg. During the night, Meade ar- 
rived in person and established headquarters on 
the west side of the I aneytown Road, south ol 
Cemetery Hill, not far from where his monument 
is now located. Both sides somewhat re-arranged 
their positions, the visible result of which was 
that the Federals were drawn fairly close togither 
south and southeast of the town, and were in |)os- 
session of the heights in those sections. The Con- 
federates held Seminary Ridge, west of (lettysburg 
and south of the Chambersburg Pike, the neigh- 
borhood where the battle began; they also occu- 
pied the town, and had some forces stationed im- 
mediately east and southeast ol it. 

It was anticipated that earl\ the tollo\\ing 
morning Lee would follow up the advantages ot 
the first day; but the forenoon was comparatively 
inactive. The delay enabled Meade to straighten 
his lines, and better secure the heights, upon 
which much was soon to depend. Lee was mean- 
while perfecting his plans, into which a difference 
of opinion between him and (len. Longstreet, his 







l\l\JNU^\lL^ I. 1-1 MINMSOTA IMAN'IK'l' 

It is an inlcrcsling farl that llii: nlativily few suUliirs from a State en- 
tering the Union in ISSS, shc.ul.l have sustained the greatest single 
losses at Gettysburg 



principal subordinate, had entered. 

I he Confederate commander proposed to make 
two attacks on the second day, one on the Union 
right, and the other on its left, w hile Longstreet 
advocatetl working around to the south and east 
of .Meade, getting between him and Washington, 
inviting rather than making the attack, and leav- 
ing the issue with the develo|>ing main battle. 
Subsequently, Lee overruled Longstreet and car- 
ried out his predetermined plan, losing the battle 
when Pickett's charge on the thirtl tlay was bro- 
ken by the Federals. .Military critics take both 
sides of the great discussion which has resulted. 

Meade prepared to meet the expected attack 
from the Confederates, now in great force on the 
west, b\ placing Hancock's 2nd Corps below Cem- 
etery Hill, already held by Federal troops, facing 
the Kmmitsburg Road. Between them and 
Little Round 1 o|>, he placed Sickles' 3rd Corps, 
also facing toward the Emmitsburg Road, but 
farther from it by reason of the southwesterly di- 
rection tiiken by it from the angle of the Balti- 
more Pike, south of the town. Calculating that 
Longstreet might move around to the south of 
the Round Lops and attack from the rear. Sick- 
les advanced beyond the points Meade had plan- 
ned, and also lengthened his line, a move discussed 
by military critics about as much as the difference 
of opinion between Lee and Longstreet, already 
referred to. 

1 he second day's Hght started about 4 P. .M. 
by contact between the sharpshooters and skirm- 
ishers of Sickles' 3rd Corps with the advance of 
Longstreet's 1st Corps, which had come down 
Seiiiin;iry Ridge and partly crossed the Fmmits- 
burg Road. A conference of Federal corps com- 
manders about to take place was necessarily giv- 
en up. Meade saw that Sickles had advanced 
beyond the line he had been ordered to take and 
hold; but decided to send him reinforcements, in 
the effort to keep it, rather than have him retire 
at a critical stage. 

Thk SrRuc;c;i,K for Liitlk Round Top 

Longstreet was driving Sickles back to about 
where Meade expected he would be at the begin- 
ning of the battle when the hght for possession of 
Little Round lop began. Though lower than 
Round lop, its slopes are easier and less heavily 
wooded; artillery well placed there would also 
command Sickles' position, as well as the inter- 
mediate ground along the line to Cemetery Hill, 
(len. Warren saw a Confederate force forming to 
take it, whereujion he summoned such Federal 
assistance as he could gather in the thick ot bat- 
tle, ;md succeeded in saving it. 

The familiar statue of Warren, standing on a 
large rock at the summit of Little Round lop, 
surve\ing the b;ittleheld below, recalls this im- 
portant service. No roads having yet been built 
up those slopes, it was necessary for the men to 
ilr;ig the guns to the summit b\- hand and ropes. 
Many casualties on Little Round Top were caused 
by Confederate sh;irpshooters located at the 
Devil's Den and elsewhere, until their ;ictivities 



Gettysburg 




Pboto by Brown Broth: 



Karl Gerbardt, Sculptor 



LITTLE ROUND TOP. STATUE OF GENERAL WARREN AT THE RIGHT 



/lew acioss the •■Valley ol Death" to the Wheatfield and the Peach Orchard. From the rocks where the statue now stands, Gen. War- 
en reviewed the battle through his field glasses on the afternoon of July 2nd; and shortly afterward ordered up the emergency defense 
vhich saved this strategic point to the Union forces. The Warren statue, erected in 1888, was the first one placed by the State of New 
t'ork on the Gettysburg Battlefield 



were checked by Federal sharpshooters. 

Subsequent charges by the Confederates were 
unsuccessful in taking this position. Though 
less important than Little Round Top, Long- 
street moved down and threatened to attempt the 
capture of Round Top, which was checked by an 
extension of the Union forces that much farther 
south. The combats in and about the Peach 
Orchard and the Wheatfield were important 
parts of this day's fight along or nearby the Em- 
mitsburg Road. Longstreet says that Lee count- 
ed them Confederate victories. 

Later in the afternoon. Sickles was danger- 
ously wounded, resulting in the loss of a leg — the 
second casualty to one of Meade's corps comman- 
ders. Darkness practically ended operations 
there; during the night the Federal line of battle 
was re-formed south of Cemetery Hill to the 
Round Tops, but no more fighting took place 
around them. 

Assaults Upon Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill 

The principal conflicts of the afternoon along 
the E'mmitsburg Road and in the vicinity of the 
Round Tops, had been in progress for some time 
before actions were started around Cemetery Hill 
and Culp's Hill, immediately south and south- 
east of Gettysburg. Both'positions had been oc- 
cupied in force by the Federals since the first day; 
and now determined efforts were made to dislodge 
them. In a preliminary cannonade, the L^nion 
artillery on Cemetery Hill practically silenced the 
Confederate batteries on Benner's hill. 

Thereupon Hoke's and Hays' brigades, Early's 
division, Ewell's Confederate Corps, largely Lou- 
isiana men, were sent to take Cemetery Hill by 



storm. Hoke's brigade, leading, was riddled by 
the Union batteries, and forced into the shelter of 
a ravine; but Hays' brigade, working up a more 
protected route, though suffering considerable 
losses, succeeded in reaching the summit. This 
precipitated a severe hand-to-hand conflict, in 
which the Federal artillery, notably Rickett's 
Pennsylvania Battery, unable to use their long- 
range guns, fought with ramrods, gun swabs, 
hand spikes, clubbed muskets, stones and even 
their fists. Reinforcements, mostly from Han- 
cock's 2nd Corps, aided in repulsing the assault. 

This was followed by a charge up Culp's Hill by 
Johnston's division, Ewell's 2nd Confederate 
Corps. During the conflict farther south, the 
Union defense here had been weakened, and 
Johnston's division swept through Green's New 
\ ork brigade, passing around to the Baltimore 
Pike close to the Federal reserve ammunition 
train. Owing to darkness, and fear that strong 
Union forces might be in the vicinity, Johnston 
returned to Culp's Hill without discovering it. 

This status held through the night. Early the 
next forenoon (the morning of the third day), 
Johnston was driven out by reinforcements, prin- 
cipallx' from Geary's division, 12th Union Corps, 
and Shaler's brigade, 6th Union Corps. No more 
fighting of importance took place in that locality; 
the Federals still held both Cemetery Hill and 
Culp's Hill, much to Lee's disappointment. 

Cavalry, used by Buford to great advantage at 
the opening of the first day's fight, was not much 
employed on the second day. About noon, how- 
ever, Kilpatrick's and Gregg's divisions, Army of 
the Potomac, which on June 30 had fought Stu- 
art's cavalry at Hanover, took position along the 



Gettysburg 



ILiiKiMi Roiitl :ili()iit time mills t:ist of (ifttys- 
Iniiii. Hen-, tliiiiiif; rlu- r.irly ivinin};, tlii-re was 
a sliarp conihat witli int;mtr\ skiiiuisluis from 
lolinston's ilivision ot Kwill's 2iul Con fid t- rat t- 
Corps. A larfiiT and final inj;af;iiiuin of ia\ ally 
in this locality was to taki- (daii- the nixt atttr- 
nooii. 

iMilllNIS ()!■ illl': SllOM) Dxi 

ill liu' ihaiui- ordiiid hy llaniciik upon Haiks- 
dali's hiigadf. MiLaw's division, Loiipstrtit's Isr 
(."ontidirati' Corps, the 1st Minnesota rifiinifnt, 
Harrow's hrigadi-, (lihbon's division, 2nd Ked- 
eral Corps, lost 215 men out of a total of 263, or 
ahoiit 82 per cent. The loss of the "l^ight Bri- 
gade" at Balaklava was only 247 out of 673, or 
about 37 per cent, less than half this percentaue. 
I hi- 9th Massachusetts Battery, Ca]irain Bigelow, 
himself wounded, lost hiur out ot si.x guns, six ot 
seven sergeants, three of four commissioned offi- 
cers, and eighty of eighty-four horses. 

Of about lOOO men composing Hays' brigade 
("Louisiana Tigers") before its charge up Cenie- 
ter\' Hill, about 313 were killed, captured or 
wdunded. I heir exact losses, according to the 
ofhcial War Records, were 31 3-10 per cent, not- 
withstanding wliu'h tbe\ continued .is an organ- 
ization to the ind of the war. "In the Wheat- 
field and Peach Orchard," remarks Col. I.iver- 
more, "both sides displa\e(l prodigies of valor with 
only moderate skill or discretion," which accounts 
tor the heavy sacrifices as compared with tin- 
gains made in the ditterent actions. 

Father Corby, chaplain 2nd (Irish) Brigaile, 1st 
division, 2nd Federal Corps, Capt. Kelly, mounted 
a rock and administered absolution to his men be- 
fore they chargi-d along the Fmitsburg Road. .At 
the word "Amen," from Corby's lips, Kelly or- 
dered "Forward." With a shout, "faiigh-a-ba- 
laiigh!" (clear the way!), they charged over the 
wheatfield and through the tindn-r b(-\ond. An 
heroic statue of Father Corby, irecteil by the So- 
dality Society of the Catholic Church, and dedi- 
cated by their Philadelphia branch, may be seen 
on the rock from which he spoke, near where a 
spur of the P. & R. R.R. crosses Hancock Ave. 

On the evening of the second day, troops from 
both armies mingled freely at Spangler's Spring, 
south of Culp's Hill, between Rock creek and the 
l?altimore I'ike. to (piench their thirst and wash 
their wounds. Only when in actual combat 
were they enemies. This incident is the original 
of the phrase "meet at Spangler's Spring," to 
indicate no personal enmity between individuals 
belonging to rival organizations. 

Final Positions and Prkparaiions 

The night of July 2 was one of greatest anxiety 
on both sides. Ihough his losses had been 
slightly less than Meade's, Lee had failed in sev- 
eral attempts to take the Round Tops, Cemetery 
Hill or Culp's Hill, and was meeting everywhere 
now an equal or greater strength. He was also 
about to tight Meade on grounds largely of the 
latter's own choosing. On the other hand, Stu- 



art's cavalry had arrived and taken a position be- 
tween the ^'ork Turnpike and the Hanover Road, 
about three miles east of Ciettysbiirg. Though 
exhausted by its hard ride up to and back from 
Carlisle, it was still an import.int factor in Lee's 
plans. 

Pickett's dixision of l.ongstreet's 1st Confed- 
erate Corps had come over the highway from 
Chambersburg, and was on the western front of 
the battlefield, west of Seminary Ridge, the only 
large unit not yet engaged. .Meade's concentra- 
tion ot all forces had been completed earlier. The 
issue was to be decided inside 24 hours by armies 
now entirely on the held. 

Both commanding generals held councils of war 
that night. Meade submitted to his corps com- 
manders a written (piestion as to whether it would 
be best to remain where they were and await at- 
tack, or make further moves. It was decided to 
remain and Hght, as the next day might Hnd them, 
though preparations were made to fall back upon 
the heights at Pipe creek in case of need. 

Lee announced to his staff the plan to attack 
the Union center with great force, risking every- 
thing on the chance of being able to break it. 
Longstreet protested against a frontal attack, and 
suggested the counter-plan, already mentioned; 
but was over-ruled by his chief, and the charge 
was ordered. 

PkIMII'AI. FviNIS OI- IHK 1 HIKI) DaV 

l'..ni\- morning of July 3 saw the last of John- 
ston's Confederrites driven from Culp's Hill; then 
rhi re was a lull from 10 A. M. until about 1 P. M. 
.Meanwhile, Kilpatrick's cavalry worked around 
to the southwest of Round Top, enabling it to 
move against the southern forces on either side of 
the Fmitsburg Ro:id, as circumstances might re- 
(piire. 

Shortly ;ifter 1 o'clock, about 138 ciinnon, 
brought into position along at least two miles ot 
the Confederate front, opened upon the Federal 
lines opjiosite, st;irting the heaviest bombardment 
known up to that timi-. I hese were replied to by 
about 'H) cannon, ;ill that could be handled in the 
more limited ;ire;i of the Union battle-tront. Dur- 
ing this bombardment, exhausting the ammuni- 
tion on both sides. (Jen. Warren, from the sumniit 
of Little Round Top, saw great prep;i rations being 
m;ide for an imminent ch;irge. ;md realized that 
the critical moments of the battle were at hand. 

He connniinicated across to Cemetery Ridge 
with Gen. Hunt, chief of the Union artillery, who 
ordered ;ill hre to cease. Disabled guns were 
(]uickly removed and others pLiced in line; all 
ammunition reserves were brought up and placed 
nearb\-. Meade had removed his headquarters 
from their first location :ilong the i aneytown 
Ro;id to Powers Hill, :i short distance south ot 
Culp's Hill, .uid about as far east of the Fmmits- 
biirg Ro;ul, from which the whole field could he 
observed and mo\-ements directed. 

Lee :ind .\lex;mder, his chief of :irtillery, sur- 
mised tli:it the Federal guns were largely disabled, 
or that their sujiplN' of ;immumtion li;id given out, 



Gettysburg 



either of which circumstances would have been ot 
inestimable advantage to them. Perhaps never 
before had the hopes of a Confederate victory been 
so hifih; the opportunity to break the Union center 
had apparently come. Longstreet, who was to 
have given the fateful command, hesitated to the 
last to do so, and Pickett, understandmg Lee's 
orders, voluntarily started the advance. 

Pickett's Famous Charge 

Between 2:.S0 and 3 P. M., Pickett's division of 
Longstreet's corps, whose front line was formed 
by Kemper's and Garnett's brigades, and whose 
second line was composed of Armistead's bri- 
gade, started at a "majestic walk" across the in- 
tervenmg distance, a mile and a quarter ot level, 
unprotected ground separating them from the 
Federal lines of artillery and infantry on the east 
side of the Emmitsburg Road. On their left 
(north), and helping to make up the attacking 
front of about a mile, were Archer's, Pettigrew's, 
Davis' and Brockenborough's brigades of Heth's 
division, A. P. Hill's corps, under Pettigrew. 

Behind them, for additional support as needed, 
were Scales' and Lane's brigades, Pender's divis- 
ion, also of A. P. Hill's corps, under Trimble. 
There were in this assault more men from Hill's 
corps than Pickett commanded in Longstreet's 
corps. In history it is known as "Pickett's 
Charge," partly because of the prominence of that 
officer in the preliminaries, and the special de- 



pendence placed by Lee on these fresh troops. 
Col. Livermore's estimate of about 14,000 in all is 
a reasonable compromise between higher and low- 
er figures; Lee, it is said, had counted upon L^,000. 

Immediately all the available longer-range 
Union batteries resumed the cannonade, tearing 
gaps in the gray brigades before they had covered 
half of the intervening distance. Some of the 
Confederate batteries began to fire over their 
heads into the Federal gun positions. Alexander, 
in an effort to support Pickett, selected 15 or IS 
guns, which had some ammunition left, followed 
in the rear of the advancing charge, and came 
into action on the rising ground just west of the 
Emmitsburg Road. 

Under the shock, the attacking brigades 
swerved from their true course, but re-formed be- 
fore reaching the Emmitsburg Road. Their be- 
havior through this ordeal was beyond praise. 
It was a magnificent but pathetic spectacle — 
living masses of men shot down with no chance to 
fight except a bit at the last, and then against so 
great odds that their valor was useless. As they 
approached nearer, the Federals opened with 
short-range arms, while the artillery along most 
of the whole line between Cemetery Hill and the 
Round Tops subjected them to "front, slant and 
enfilade fire." 

Repulse of the Charge 
While ordering one of the brigades of Double- 



-_«__ ^,.USM^„., 




'".'• \'-^^%\ 









PICKETT'S CHARGE. BY EDWIN FORBES, AN ARTIST OF THAT PERIOD 

This sketch is typical of many illustrations which appeared in the leading periodicals during and for about 25 years after the Civil War, before 
wood cuts were superseded hy half-tone engravings. Though not claimed to be accurate in details, it unquestionably gives a fair general idea of 
the Confederate charge across the level ground toward the stone wall, and the Uni<m forces rushing up to encounter it 



Gettysburg 



Through 




lOK Tin SUCTION SOUTH OF THF. THROUCII ROUTH AT CETTYS- 



day's division to att;ick the- Hank u( tin- greatly 
tliinnt'd liiit unchecked assailants, Hancock was 
wounded. One of Meade's corps commanders 
had now been disabled on each day of the tight — 
Reynolds killed on rhe 1st. Sickles wounded on 
the 2nd, and Hancock on the .ird. Despite the 
unprecedented carnage, tor rhe number of men 
engagetl, probabl\- about .^,(MH) of Pickett's, Pet- 
tigrew's and Trimble's men, who had consoli- 
dated their lines again and again, reached the 
stone wall. 

I hat and orhei means of iirorecrion had luin 
of great aiKant.ige to the I'edeials. Mon()\er, 
tht- damage iloiu- b\ the preliminaiA COnfederate 
bombardment, much of which went too far o\er, 
was not as great as had been expected. The 
Union men were comparatively fresh, while the 
remnants of the attacking brigades were worn by 
their march through the terrific tire. 

Armistead was mortally wounded while leaping 
over the stone wall and calling upon the men 
about him to press forward their attack. So 
great had been their momentum that, despite 
their great losses, some of the Confederates reach- 
ed as far as 30 paces inside the Federal lines. Dur- 
ing the last few minutes it was a hand-to-hand 
conflict, like rhe final stage ot the assault on Cem- 
etery Hill the day before, but on a larger scale. 



At the last it was impossible for them to go for- 
ward or backward; the men could only be killed, 
wounded or taken prisoners. The high tide of 
the "Confederacy in Arms" had been reached, 
and rolled back. How intense was the final ac- 
tion is indicated b\ the fact that w ithin UX) scjuare 
yards at least 20 different Confederate colors were 
captured. The ground from the stone w all to be- 
yond the Kmmitsburg Road, was literally strewn 
with the dead and wouniled. 

In thi opinion of somi, the relative importance 
of this ch.iigi has been overestimated. One 
speaker, at the deilication of a monument else- 
where on the held, referred to it as "a .>0-minute 
episode in a 3 da\'s battle." I aking place on the 
afternoon of the third day, when a decision could 
not have been much longer delayed, may have 
somewhat emphasized its importance. 

Ihe verdict of impartial history seems to be 
that it was a splendid attempt to carry through 
an impracticable undertaking. I-ee was "shaken 
hv its fearful consequences," but accepted full re- 
sponsibility for the failure. 

Personal incidents, plentiful from the first and 
second days, are strangely lacking from the last 
day- Everything else on the Confederate side 
was subordinated to the attack on the Federal 
center; and .ill the strength that could be mar- 



Gettysburg 




BURG. SEE SEPARATE MAP Ol- THE BATTLEFIELD. PAGE 5 



shalled at that vital sector of the Union hne was 
used to meet and repulse the assault. 

"Saber Fight," Afternoon of July 3 

What is generally considered the great cavalry 
battle of the war began in the early afternoon be- 
tween Gregg's division of Federal cavalry, assisted 
by Custer's brigade, and Stuart's Confederate 
cavalry, near the junction of the Hanover and Low 
Dutch roads, about three miles east of Gettysburg. 
Though the Confederates had larger numbers, 
one of their units, Jenkins' brigade, carried only 
ten rounds of ammunition, and made an early re- 
tii^'ment. Stuart's force was also partially ex- 
hausted by the severe activities of previous days. 

This engagement is also known as the "sabre 
fight," most of the casualties resulting from the 
use of that weapon. At times horses would en- 
counter at full speed, rebounding several feet from 
the shock. Even more than the fight at Brandy 
Station, just after the start of Lee's northward 
advance, it proved Union cavalry a fair match 
for the mounted Confederate forces. 

Stuart was not decisively defeated, and lost 
fewer men than the Federals; but he was no longer 
a factor in the battle. Lee hoped that he would 
elude or defeat the Union cavalry east of Gettys- 
burg; and, driving in from that direction at the 



opportune moment, assist Pickett's charge to cut 
through the Unicn center. Had these two plans 
succeeded, the result might have been different. 
Kilpatrick's cavalry, a smaller division than 
Gregg's, sent around to the southwest of Round 
Top, on the forenf)on of the second dav, made an 
attack upon the Confederate lines after Pickett's 
charge. But the day was far spent; and only a 
few manoeuvers of minor importance resulted. 
During this combat, Farnsworth, commander of 
one of Kilpatrick's brigades, was killed. 

A Yew General Conclusions 

Leaving all fine and subtle points to the critics, 
it is almost inevitable that the tourist giving some 
study to the history of this campaign, and looking 
carefully over the ground, should have come to a 
few conclusions, very likely about as follows: 

1. Halleck was undoubtedly at fault in not 
adding to Hooker's army the strong garrison at 
Harper's Ferry, as greater numbers seemed neces- 
sary to give the Federals a preponderance over 
the Confederates in Pennsylvania. But Hook- 
er's petulant resignation, almost on the eve of an 
important battle, can hardly be excused, although 
the best interests ot the Union cause were proba- 
bly served thereby. 

2. Meade fought ;i good but not brilliant bat- 



Gettysburg 



rif rlirinij;lii)ut. His movcnunts were will pl:in- 
ncii. ami c.itiittl thi()ii;;h with sinmtl iiKl>;iiu-nt ; 
he insurtii his risks. A sinnii- larKf misraki: hy 
himsclt or one of his chief suliordmatcs, itiijiht 
have hern ainons; rh( nmsr disastrous in Ameriean 
hist(ir\ . 

if Meade hail |>r(iin|)tly rolloweil up the advan- 
tages of the third day. he niiulu liave erushed i.ee 
and hroiighr tiie war to an earliei ind. I his 
view, ami also the opinion that he did well to 
move slowlv and \\\th f;reat caution, haw able 
partisans. |. I'. Usher, a war-time Secretai\ ol 
the Interior, i]iiotes Lincoln as saying afterward, 
"lie ilid so well at ( lettyshiMf; that I cannot com- 
plain of him." 

X I.ee, hnlli.iiu srratejiist, imt not infallible, 
comlucted the ^riat canipaif;n with conspicuous 
success, in most rtspects, ajiamsf severe handi- 
ca|is. He had beaten or cluikmatiil three pre- 
vious commanders ot the .Amu ol the I'otomac, 
and was in strong hopes ol tiiumpli. 1 hat the 
lease of life of the C'onfederacx was "bnriu on the 
saddle-bow ot l.ee's ch.irgei", " was mim tli.in a 
phrase. 

I'icki/it's C'ii.\R(;i:: Skkms" 1,i\i 

In ordering Pickett's charge, he took one great, 
final risk; hut no more rash than IJurnside's as- 
sault upon the detenses ot 1' redericksbuig, or 
(irant's assault at Cold Harbor. Having failed 
to take the Federal positions on Cemeterv Hill or 



C'ulp's Hill above, or the Round Tops below, un- 
able to insure a safe retreat, even if so disposed, 
and tacing a serious shortage of provisions for 
men and animals, it might have been justified. 

Having, in his high capacity, decided upon 
Pickett's charge, he wdiild seem to have deserved 
at least more willing co-operation than he re- 
ceived trom l-ongsrreet. I he counter-plan pre- 
senteil by l-ongstreet might have been better for 
the (."(infiilerate cause; bur that was for I,ee to 
deckU-. \ p:irticip;int in the b;ittle, ;md ever 
since a close student of men :ind ivents there, 
m;ikes this intiiesting comment; 

l.iiiii;striil \v:is <iiK- iit the :ilik-st soritlurn leaders, 
.111(1 iKxt to Stonewall Jack.soii, Lee's most trusted 
liiuniiaiit. Reniem lien III; that his corps took the 
most active part in the eiij-apements of the second and 
third days (the attack on the third hcini; against his 
jiidument), we can perhaps pardon any seeminnly 
iiiuhie claims on his part. He was a i;fadiiatt of West 
I'oiiit, and served with distinction in the .Mexican 
War, with tJrant and other noted officers in the ar- 
mies of the North and South. .After the war he took 
an active part in restoring harmony between the two 
sections, and was appoinled hy President (irant siir- 
vc\"r of the port of New Orleans, where he resided. 

4. Lee was practically without cavalry on 
the first two days, when it might have rendered 
great service. In "Stuart's Cavalry in the Ciet- 
tvsburg C;impaign" (19()S), the late Col. John S. 
Mosbv, an officer under .Stuart, makes an elabo- 
r:ite defense of :dl tin- niovrmints of bis ibitf 



r 








I ihc lifl. iii..nunuiu K. O.wan's 1st New ><, 
c^Krounil. I'ii: R..urnl Top. nill shaft lUiir tin 
ic trees >>n llie extreme rinht are the identical 
re 2.S feet hi^li, and ..niv «) feel liich when i.i 



•HIGH WATER MARK 

Vork Independent Bat 



CETT'lSBLm. 1!.\1 11. Ll ILLU 



TV. In the disl.incc (left). 

O.S, Regulars. OntheriKhl 
L-s toward which Pickett's men eharjjcd, "I hes 
Hired a^ain in 1885 



ittle Round Top. indislinell.v see: 
(the open book), is ihc "hixh wate 



Gettysburg 



This abounds in interesting details; but is often 
more argument than narrative, and at least seems 
inconclusive on some points. 

Gen. Lee is quoted by his nephew, Fitz Lee, 
brigade commander in Stuart's cavalry, as havmg 
said that with "Stonewall" L'ekson at Gettys- 
burg, the Confederates would have won a great 
victory. Jackson would probably have acted 
quickly and vigorously to carry out Lee's plans 
without question, instead of either protesting or 
delaying, as Longstreet did. Had he been in 
command of Stuart's cavalry, it is altogether 
likely that he might have covered less grf)und and 
accomplished a great deal more. 

But Jackson, killed at Chancellorsville less than 
60 days before, was safe in his well-deserved fame 
before Lee and Stuart were put to additional tests 
in the Pennsylvania campaign. Benjamin Frank- 
lin's famous cautit)n to Gen. Braddock that "the 
events of war are subject to great uncertainties," 
may well be remembered in summing up the 
momentous events of 186,^. Whether or not Lee 
and Jackson together could have won at CJettys- 
burg must always remain an interesting specula- 
tion. 

Col. Livermore seems to establish the tact that, 
on the second day. Sickles was not justified in ad- 
vancing his lines beyond the points ordered by 
Meade; that an unnecessary loss of life resulted; 
and Meade was at great disadvantage in con- 
forming his plans to the change. On the other 
hand, the late Capt. James T. Long, of Gettys- 
burg, basing his judgment on the nature ot the 
ground and the circumstances of the battle, not 
only commended Sickles' movement, but always 
claimed it to have been the saving act to the Un- 
ion cause at the Round Tops. 

Summary and Brief Analysis of Losses 

The stubborn valor shown on both sides is best 
reflected in the statistics. Col. Livermore esti- 
mates the number of Federals killed or wounded 
as 17,684, or 212 to every 1,000 actually engaged; 
and that of the Confederates as 22,638, or 301 to 
each 1,000. This higher ratio was partly due, of 
course, to the heavy casualties from Pickett's 
charge. The 26th North Carolina, Pettigrew's 
brigade, Heth's division, A. P. Hill's corps, lost on 
that charge 588 out of 820 men, about 72%, or 
approximately 10% less than the losses of the 1st 
Mint^esota, already mentioned. 

Estimates as to the "missing" vary widely, es- 
pecially on the Confederate side. It is said that 
President Lincoln once explained this inevitable 
but puzzling feature of all casualty reports by a 
story to the effect that it three blackbirds were 
seen on a rail fence, a good shot ought to kill one, 
and it might be possible to follow the flight of the 
other; but that the third one would probably be 
just "missing." 

Both Col. Livermore and John M. Vander- 
slice (author of "Where and how the Regiments 
fought and whom they Encountered"), have pre- 
pared tables too detailed for the average reader or 
tourist making a brief visit. Reducing the sta- 




Pboto by Tiplon, GetlyshuT/: H.K Bush-Brown, si ulplor 

EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MAJ.-GEN. GEORGE G. MEADE 



Facing Hancock Ave. a slu.r 
him after the main Uniun for. 
State of Pennsylvania 



;e west of headquarters used by 
■ up to Gettysburg. Erected by 



tistics to convenient round numbers, it may be 
stated that the Federals lost 23,1)00 out of 93,000 
engaged; the Confederates 22,500 out of 80,000 
men, besides 5,400 priscmers, taken mostly by the 
1st Union corps. 

When comparing the losses at Gettysburg with 
those in the civil and other wars, it should be re- 
membered that, with incidental exceptions, all the 
casualties occurred in what was practically one gi- 
gantic action there, divided by natural causes into 
three parts, each representing a day's fight. Con- 
sidering the territory covered by Lee's second and 
longest invasion, there were remarkably tew minor 
engagements; nothing like the battle of South 
Mountain preliminary to Antietam in the first 
invasion. The Confederates encountered no 
formidable opposition until Meade's forces were 
marshalled against them at Gettysburg. 

A Few Striking Comparisons 

According to statistics by Theodore Dodge, the 
French losses in 9 battles under Napoleon up to 
Waterloo were only 22.38*^ j, killed and wounded, 
which would be slightly more than the Union 
losses, but still less than those of the Confederates, 
at Gettysburg alone. The German, Austrian and 



Gettysburg 



English losses in the N;ipoleonic wars up to Water- 
loo were much less than those of the French. At 
Metz, the Gartleschut/.en battalion lost 46.1% 
and the 16th W'estphalian lnfanti\ at Mars la 
lOur (both Franco-dirnian war) 49.4Vf. 

Though ahiiornially high, those ratios were 
still materially helow the losses of the 1st Minne- 
sota. Unless (lepenciahle statistics of the recent 
European war establish a higher ratio of casual- 
ties, either for large numbers or small detachments 
engageil, (Gettysburg apparently holds the record. 

" Ihe Civil \\ ar," said former (lovernor Edwm 
S. Stuart, of Pennsylvania, addressing \eteians of 
the Cieneral (lordon .Meade Post at Philadelphia, 
in 1919, "is still this country's greatest military 
effort." .*\ comparison of the proportion of the 
nation's man-power drawn upon in 1861-'65, and 
in 191 7-' 18, would fully sustain this opinion. In 
number of points of fighting contact, the battle of 
Gettysburg surpassed all others of the civil war. 

Ihe following generals fell on the Union side: 
Reynolds, Weed, Farnsworth and Zook, killed; 
Hancock, Sickles, Doubleday, Buttertield, Bar- 
low, Warren, Barnes, (libhon and (Jraham, 
wounded. On the Confederate side, Armistead, 
Barksdale, Ciarnett, Pender, Pettigrew and Sem- 
mes, killed or mortally wounded; lletb. I loud, 
Johnston, Kemper, Irimble and Kimbal wounded, 
and Archer taken prisoner. High officers on both 
sides, except the commanding generals, sh;ired 
the hazards of the held to ;i large extent with their 
men. 

One woin;in. Miss \ iigini;i ("Jennie") \\ ;ide, 
was killed on Jul\ 3. Early in the morning she 
was mixing dough for bread at her house along 
the Baltimore Pike, just east of the angle where 
the Fmniitslnirg Road diverges from it, exposed 
to the fire of both forces. Just before 8:30 A. M., 
she was struck by a bullet, prob;ibly from the 
rifle ot a Confederate sharpshooter, ;ind died al- 
most instantly. Ihe writer of the chapter, "The 
women of Gettysburg," in the volume, "Woman's 
Work in the Civil War" (1867), states that Miss 
\\ ade was buried the next day in a rude coffin in- 
tended for ;i Confeder;ite officer, but c;i|irured by 
a Union column. 

Rktrkat ok thk CoNKi;nKRATK Armies 

During the night of July 3, 1863, Ewell's 
forces which had penetrated farthest into Penn- 
sylvania evacuated (lettysburg by withdr;iwing 
to Seminary Ridge. (Jraduiilly his and other 
corps and divisions of Fee's army, including 
Stuart's cavalry, returned to the I'otomac, in p;irt 
by the Hagerstown Road through South Moun- 
tain gap (Fairfield, Pa.), and p;irtly through the 
Cashtown gap, on the Chambersburg Pike, and 
the lower Cumberhind valley. 

Meade moved too slowly ;ifter them to prevent 
a safe re-crossing of the river into Virginia, though 
that movement was delayed by high water. Kil- 
patrick's cavalry, stationed southwest of Round 
1 op during the last stages of the third day's fight, 
did start pursuit, capturing several miles of Con- 
federate wagon trains, many guns, horses and 



mules, and a number of prisoners, in the vicinity 
of Monterey gap of South Mountain. Lee took 
as many wounded along as he could transport; but 
large numbers were left behind. 

No other important engagement took place 
north of the Potomac after Gettysburg. Hence- 
forth the w;ir was confined to the southern states 
and the Mississijipi v;illey. The prestige of the 
North was greatly increased, especially when 
Vicksburg was taken by Grant at almost the same 
time. ihe intervention of foreign powers was 
postponed; and the northern "Peace parrv" de- 
clinetl in numbers antl influence. Still the Army 
ot Northern \ uginia continued the conflict, un- 
der Lee, until Appomattox, a year and three- 
(]uarters alter. 




11^ K liusb.Droun 



Cellysburg National Park 



MAJOR-GF.N. JOHN lUl.TON REVNOl.DS. U. S. V. 

CniiinijuukT Ut Corps, Army of the Potomac. This monument is alonR 
the Lituoln Ifitxhwiiv. within a short distance ol the spot where the gen- 
eral was killed in the first day's fight 

Pri-sident Lincoln Invited to Gettysburg 

B\ midsummer, 1863, the U. S. Sanitary Com- 
mission ;ind Hospit;il Transport Service had been 
well oig:ini7.ed; ;ind were c;illed upon to the ut- 
most for relief ;ifter the battle of Gett\sburg. 
Thousands of Feder:il and Confederate wounded 
were supplied with food, and cared for during a 
period of about three weeks, convalescents being 
me;mwhile sent away, largely to Baltimore. 
About 4,(X)(), too badK- wounded to be moved, re- 
iiKiiiied for a considei ;iblv longer time. I^arge 
numbers of the blue antl the gray were simply 
wrapped in blankets and committed to earth. 

Soon after the departure of the relief organiza- 
tions, citizens of Gettysburg, led by Judge David 
Wills, purchased 17 acres of ground on Cemetery 
Hill, ;idioining the old town cemetery, and set it 
;ip;nt for the better interment, especially of the 



20 



Gettysburg 



unidentified dead. The fact that soldiers from 
17 northern and 11 southern states, with Mary- 
land troops engaged on both sides, participated in 
the conflict there, made it more national than any 
other battlefield of the war. Judge Wills, prob- 
ably in co-operation with Gov. Andrew G. Cur- 
tin, of Pennsylvania, decided that it would be 
appropriate to have special dedication services. 

Edward Everett, former Secretary of State and 
ex-Senator of the United States from Massachu- 
setts, was secured to deliver the oration. It is 
generally believed that Gov. Curtin invited Lin- 
coln to be present, and this may have been the 
case; but the letter of invitation from Gettysburg 
was written by Judge Wills, probably with little 
or no anticipation that he was setting the stage 




J. t. Kelly, sculptor. Pbolo horn Gellyshurg National Park Commission 

MAJOR-GEN. JOHN BUFORD, U. S. CAV. 

North side of Lincoln Highway, near the equestrian statue of Gen. Rey- 
nolds, and in the midst of the locality where the first day's fight started 

for one of the world's great classics. The follow- 
ing copy is from the bronze tablet in the National 
Cemetery: 

The several States having soldiers in the ■•\rmy of 
tH-: Potomac who were killed at the Battle of Get- 
tysburg, or have since died at the various hospitals 
established in the vicinity, have procured grounds on 
a prominent part of the battlefield for a cemetery, 
and are having the de?d removed to them and prop- 
erly buried. 

These grounds will be consecrated nnd set apart to 
this sacred purpose on Thursday the . '.i instant. It 
is the desire that you, as chief executive of the Na- 
tion, formally set apart these grounds to their sacred 
use by a few appropriate remarks. It will be a source 
of great gratification to the many widows and or- 
phans that have been made almost friendless by the 
great battle here, to have you here personally. It 
will kindle anew in the breasts of the comrades of 
these brave dead, now in the tented field or nobly 
meeting the foe in the front, a confidence that they 
who sleep in death on the battlefield are not forgotten 



by those in authority; and they will feel, that should 
their fate be the same, their remains will not be un- 
cared for. 

This remarkable letter was almost a prophecy 
of the Gettysburg address; and a reading of the 
two in sequence will show how natural and appro- 
priate was Lincoln's reply. It may reasonably 
be surmised that the suggestion in the last few 
lines made a great impression upon the mind of the 
President; and that the celebrated Address was 
an earnest, thoughtful effort to carry out Judge 
Wills' suggestion. The same feelings permeate 
both, and their language is strikingly similar. 

Despite many pressing cares, Lincoln left Wash- 
ington for Gettysburg on a special train in the 
forenoon of November 18th. Benjamin Perley 
Poore, an old-time journalist, states that the 
President wrote upon a piece of pasteboard held 
upon his knee, in the car on the way, with persons 
talking all around him; but James B. Fry, then 
Provost .Marshal-CJen., and head of the official es- 
cort on the train, calls this popular impression an 
error. He adds further that at the time of writing 
about this journey, 1885 or 1886, he had no recol- 
lection that Lincoln either wrote or read while en 
route; and that either would have been difficult. 

E. W. Andrews, chief-of-stafF to Gen. Morris, 
then commanding the defenses of Baltimore, and 
another passenger on the train in an official ca- 
pacity, giving perhaps the best account of an eye- 
witness ("Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln," 
by distinguished men of his time, published 1886), 
is silent (in the incident quoted by Poore and con- 
sidered improbable by Gen. Fry, which may well 
add to our doubt of it. A recent correspondent 
at Gettysburg, calling attention to the Wills 
house, still standing on the southeast ctirner of the 
Square, refers to it as "the building in which the 
President wrote, or re-wrote, the Address." 

1 he whole truth could probably be found only 
in a composite of these various accounts and opin- 
ions. It would be strange if Lincoln, even in the 
midst of the company on the train, to which he 
told stories, as usual, should not have been pon- 
dering what he might best say on this important 
occasion.* A few notes could have been made 
without much observation in the course of the 
journey; and its final shape may have been given 
during his brief stay at the Wills house. Thar it 
was determined upon, in form and substance, be- 
fore the President reached the cemetery, admits 
of little doubt. 

An Ever-Memorial Occasion 

It is doubtful if any fresh description could 
equal the account (condensed) as written by Mr. 
E. W. Andrews, who says, in part: The ceremo- 
nies of the dedication were imposing; the great 
procession, civic and military, the music, impress- 
ive religious exercises, the oration by Edward Ev- 



K York State, 18fa4-'68, states 
A impromptu speaker; but re- 
;nt of the thing to be said." In 
an interesting instance of the 
:ould say to satisfy the crowd 
tt advance notice to reply to a 



♦Reuben E. Fen 


ton, governi 


or of Ne 


that "Mr. Lincoln 


was not a 


successf. 


quired time lor th( 


jught and a 


rrangem* 


his reminiscences. 


Mr. Fent.,1 


1 quotes 


President "not kn< 


)wing just V 
™ called upo 


ihat he < 


and himself," whei 


in withoii 



Gettysburg 




AliKAHAM I INCOI N 



Phologri.ph "I liank B. ( ::ir|HiUir's icliljral.cl |> 
gallery i.l tlu- lJni,.n I c;ikih- CIuI), N.-w 1'ork Cilv 



erett (the last public effort of his life), rind the 
dedication ol the chosen ground hy President 
Lincoln, made the day one to he remeniinred. 
Around the piattorm from which the adchxsses 
were delivered, the military were formed in a hol- 
low square, several ranks deep. Mr. Kverett's 
oration, althoujjh perhaps not ecjual in rhetorical 
beauty and lotr\ eliHiueiice to some of his pre- 
vious eftorts, was rub in historical instruction 
and glowinf; with patriotic sintinunt; and \sas 
greeted with great applause. 

At length, in the name o\ the American Re- 
public, the President came forward to formally 
dedicate the place, pledging the fidelity, honor 
and power of the (jovernment to its preservation. 
To Lincoln, graceful movement was a physical 
impossibilitv; but his awkwardness was forgotten 
in the interest which the expression of his face 
and what he said awakened. He stepjied slowK 
to the front of the platform with his hands clasped 
before him. his natural sadness of expression deep- 
ened, head bent forward and eyes cast to the 
ground. In this attitude he stood for a few sec- 
onds silent, as if communicating with his own 
thoughts. 

When he began to speak aiul throughout the 
entire address, his manner indicated no con- 
sciousness of the presence of thousands, but 
rather of one who. like the prophet of old, w as 
over-mastered by some unseen spirit; and gave 
utterance to the feelings with which he was in- 
spired. In his whole appearance, as well as in 
his utterances, there was such evidence of wisdom, 
benevolence and moral grandeur that the great 



assembly listened almost awe-struck. There are 
several versions of the Address, varying slightly 
in the wording. In the office of the National Park 
Commission, (lettssbiirg, is probably the most 
authentic copy, given herewith verbatim: 



\i)i>Ki;ss I)i:i.ivi:ri:i) .' 
Ckmi;tkrv 



I'm; DiDICAIKJN OK THE 

r (iirrr'^siujRc 



Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers 
broudlit forth on this continent, a new nation, 
conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to llie prop- 
osition tliat all men are created eijual. 

Now we are engaged in a Ureal civil war, test- 
ind whether that nation, or any nation so con- 
ceived and so dedicated, can lond endure. We 
are met on a jjreat liattlefield of that war. We 
have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as 
a final resting place for lliose who here gave 
their lives that that nation might li\e. It is 
altogether filling and proper llial we shouki 
do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate 
we cannol consecrate we cannot hallow this 
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here, have consecrated it. far above 
our poor power to add or detract. The world 
will little note, nor long remember what we say 
here, but it can never forget what the> did here. 

It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated 
here to the unfinished work which they who 
fought here have thus far so nobly ad\aneed. 
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the 
great task remaining for us that from these 
honored dead we take increased devotion to that 
cause for which they gave the last full measure 
of devotion that we here highly resolve that 
these dead shall not have died in vain ih.it this 
nation, under (iod, shall have a new birth of 
freedom and that government of the people, 
by the people, for the people, shall not perish 
from the earth. 

It IS griurali\ understood that Lincoln feared 
that the tew "remarks" were unequal to the im- 
portance of the occasion, or up to the expectation 
of the audience; but on that point he was soon re- 
;issured by Mr. Kverett. Hugh -McCulloch, 
Comptroller of the Currency, (1863), states that 
on the completion of the addressu^ Mr. Everett 
grasped the President's hand and remarked: 
"Mv speech will soon be forgotten; yours will 
ne\er be. How gladly would I exchange my 
hundred pages for your twenty lines!" 

.\nother account says that on the following 
morning Mr. Everett sent a note to Lincoln re- 
ferring in intimate terms to the eloquent simplic- 
itv and appropriateness of the address. i he 
statement by the President that the world 
"would little note nor long remember" what w'as 
s;iid ;it the dedication there has, of course, been 
interpreted difFerently by his countrymen. Nev- 
ertheless, it required many years for this speech 
to be appreci:'''il as it is today. 



i llSIOKIC HaI KCROIM) 



Mi: .Addrkss 



Ibis occ;ision grows in impoit;ince ;ind interest 
when considered, ;is it shoulil be. in the light of 
politic:il and milit;iry events between that tiine 
;itul the b;ittle, a little more than four and a half 
months before. .After (Gettysburg, and the al- 
most siiiuiltantdus fall of N'icksbiirg, opening the 



22 



Gettysburg 



Mississippi to the Gulf, the President, a shrewd 
judge of circumstances, must have been tairly 
confident that the military forces of the Confed- 
eracy would gradually wear themselves out. 
1 mie began to fight on the Union side, and an- 
other important conflict on northern sod was un- 
likely. 

The chances of foreign intervention, which 
caused so much anxiety at the beginning ot his 
first term, were now greatly lessened; and his two- 
fold task of winning the war by force of arms, and 
at the same time keeping in check the peace party 
in the North, had become somewhat easier. Pa- 
triotic feeling increased as new victories were 
gained. Consciousness of progress already made 
toward the goal, which at times had seemed al- 
most impossible ever to reach, strong faith in the 
final result, and an unshaken determination to 
maintain the essential Union principles, may be 
safely read between the lines. 

It was then less than a year and a quarter to the 
second inaugural address. On both occasions, 
Lincoln unquestionably looked forward, beyond 
the time and place, to the reconstruction period, 
which he must have felt was not far away, and in 
which he no doubt hoped to have a large and im- 
portant part. ". . . to finish the work we are 
in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him 
who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow 



and orphans . . ." actually spoken at Wash- 
ington on March 4, 1865, would have fitted per- 
fectly into the Gettysburg "remarks" of Novem- 
ber 19, 1863. Criticism of the southern Confed- 
eracy and its leaders, and sectional feeling, were 
conspicuously absent from both addresses, which 
adds to their historical values, and makes them 
human documents of high order. 

Lincoln's paramount obiect was to sa\e the 
LInion; and subsequent history is the best proof 
of how thoroughly that has been accomplished. 
I he oaths of allegiance taken by officers and men 
surrendered by Lee to Grant at Appomattox, and 
afterwards by Johnston to Sherman in North Car- 
olina, have been kept inviolate to this day; and 
the only half century in the history of this gov- 
ernment without nullification or secession move- 
ments has been since 1865. 

Skrvicks at Presbyterian Church: return 
TO \Vashinc;ton 

After the ceremonies at the National Ceme- 
tery, Lincoln rode horseback to the Wills house, 
where he had spent the previous night (18th). 
On the evening of the 19th, he walked beside 
John Burns to patriotic services at the Presby- 
terian Church, the two occupying pew No. 64. • 
Exactly 51 years later (evening, November 19, 
1914), three tablets commemorating the event, 




lL ,„ ui/„, oj U-m^lmre Niinunal Park Commission. P. O. Imildinf, Cetlysbure. Pbolo i Tiplonl l,y ,,c 

LINCOLN'S ADDRESS AT GETTYSBURG. NOVEMBER U1, ISol 

\^ T Kili.r. an ; 



> good photographs of this see 
:rated papers ui" that time, dri 
ould indicate 



c. and fiw uho heard the n 
V this pitlurc; the general i 



nous address 
ipression 



prolwblv 



Gettysburg 




Monuimnt and markers on 
['iBhliilK tiii.k pkuc, ran lif 



at.li.lcl li.v Sn.itirs4th Ni- 



IV.p, around which 



cloiKitfd h\ Ml. J. \\ . Jdliiisroii, (if Rdilu-srci. N. 
Y., were unveikd with appropriate ceremonies. 
As the congregation passed out of the ehiireh, a 
tablet on the outside, presented hy Col. 1'.. H. 
Cope, was also unveiled. 

1 hat same evening the I'resident's s|hcui1 train 
returned to the National Cajiital. Lincohl never 
again saw the F^hiiadelphia-Pittshurgh Pike, 
though his funeral car crossed it at ^'ork, en route 
from Washington and Baltimore to Harrishurg, 
Philadelphia and New "\'ork. The "tall, gaunt, 
melancholv man" left no other utterance so thor- 
oughly impressed upon the hearts ot his countr\- 
men as the "(ietf\shurg .Address." 

The motorist running from Philadelphia to 
Ciettvsburg will notice the name "Lincoln High- 
way" on signposts and elsewhere, until it seems 
overdone. Seldom is the highway referred to h\ 
any other name. \tt, aside from the large mon- 
ument passed on the way out through Fairmount 
Park, near the start of the trip, there have been 
no visible memorials to the war President. One 
traveling eastward from Pittsburgh will see only 
a small Lincoln monument on the way to (letty.s- 
burg, in an unimportant fork between \\ ilkins- 
burg and Kast Pittsburgh, hardly out of the larger 
city. 

^uite natiii.dly, therefore, the ipicstion arises 
as to what extent, if any, .Abraham Lincoln per- 
sonally knew, or was identified with this route. 
Careful and extensive e.xamination ot the usual 
reference material, including the standard biog- 
raphies, lead to the conclusion that he never went 
over any part of it; and probably knew very little 
about the road beyond the fact that in pre-rail- 
way days it was an important thoroughfare tor 
stage-coach travel and tnigbr-w agon tiaHic to 
and from the West. 

On October 21. 1S47, a few days before leaving 



llliiuns to take his seat in Congress, he wrote 
trom Springfield to Morris &c Brown in part as 
follows: "Unfortunately for my attending to the 
busmess you sent, 1 start for \\ ashington by zi-ay 
ol Kt-uliick\ next Monday." He probably came 
east by stage either through Cumberland Gap 
into N'irginia, or over the National Pike, in the 
latter case possibly using an Ohio river steam- 
boat from some point in northern Kentucky to 
Wheeling, then in \irginia, now West Virginia, 
continuing thit)ugh Uniontown, Cumberland, 
llagerstown and Frederick. It is practically cer- 
tain that he did not go through Pittsburgh; and 
e\en if that were the case, road travel from that 
city to Washington ordinarily turned southeast 
far west of Ciettvsburg. Through railway ser- 
vice east from Pittsburgh w.is not opened until 
December 1S52. 

Returning to Springfield from Congress, he 
could hardiv have gone over this route, because 
hi' stopped awhile at Niagara Falls. His next 
trip, earlv in 1861, as President-elect, was by 
train through Indianapolis, Columbus, Buffalo, 
.Albany and New ^'ork Citv to Lienton, Phila- 
delphi;i (with a siile-trip to Harrishurg) and Bal- 
timore. In the latter part of April, 18()5, his re- 
mains were taken through Harrishurg to Phila- 
tlelphia, reposing in st;ite at Independence Hall 
from the 2.2nd to the 24th; thence to New 'S'ork 
Cit\, and west through Albany, Buffalo and 
Cleveland to Chicago. It is altogether likely 
that all he ever saw of (lettysburg was the brief 
stay there. November ISth-L'th. lS6v 



FROM BAIIL 
MIL! 



;FiFi.n ro n aiionai 

\R^ l'\RK 



Probably more tourists now stop each year at 
Ciettysburg than there were men on both sides in 
the three-davs' b;ittle. Large numbers use the 



Gettysburg 



same highways that the sdldieis of '63 walked 
over. Occasionally among them is still a vet- 
eran of the hlue or gray, with a vivid memory ot 
the scenes of carnage more than fifty years ago. 

To such a visitor, views of the town and en- 
virons from some elevation along any of the sev- 
eral converging pikes must he inspiring sights. 
The stage upon which war parts were acted by 
tens of thousands, is little changed in physical 
aspect. Time and weather favorable, the tourist 
may observe sunlight and shadow mingling over 
the fields, woods and hills where great armies con- 
tended. 

Lacking memories possessed hy veterans of 
the conflict here, later generations need more than 
detached historical studies to realize the nature 
and proportions of the battle. Himdreds of mon- 
uments, tablets and other markers have been 
placed on the field to identify practically all points 
of military or general interest. These, also, 
greatly assist the visitor to folk)W the manani- 
vers of the two armies and their various sub-di- 
visions before, during and after the three days" 
fight. 

Fiist-class State and Federal roads not onK 
supplement admirably the highway system which 
centers at Gettysburg, but make about every 
point of interest quickly and easily accessible by 
foot or vehicle. 1 he main-traveled highway be- 
tween Philadelphia and Pittsburgh running 
through the northern and western parts ot the 
battlefield area has made it familiar to many 
thousands who might not visit it if sitLiated, like 
Antietam, a number of mdes away. 

The original organization was formed to carry 
on the work begun voluntarily by citizens of the 
town in the establishment and care of a cemetery 
where unidentified or unclaimed bodies of Union 
soldiers might have an appropriate final resting 
place. On April 30, 1864, less than ten months 
after the battle, and somewhat over five months 
after President Lincoln dedicated the field with 
the Gettysburg Address, the Pennsylvania legis- 
lature, in an act promptly signed by Gov. Curtin, 
established the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial 
Association. Much credit is diie the patriotic 
people of the town and vicinity for the prompt 
and thorough way in which they undertook the 
project. 

During the early years, while the association 
was still mostly local, the work was in charge ol a 
board of directors, mostly residents, who were 
very successful in enlisting the co-operation of 
states, and patriotic societies north and south. It 
gradually widened in scope, and had become the 
largest, best known memorial to the American 
soldier, prtbr to the movement to give it National 
character. 

In 1893 the work of the local organization was 
transferred to a park commission, appointed by 
the Secretary of War, one condition being that 
should the Federal government ever neglect the 
grounds, they should revert to the commonwealth 
of Pennsylvania. By act of Congress, approved 
February 11, 1895, the Gettysburg National Park 



was established, and has since been under the di- 
rection of the War Dejiai tmeiit. 

Personnel of the Commission 

Members of the commission have been promi- 
nent veterans, through whose untiring zeal, good 
judgment and energy, Gettysburg has been made 
the most completely marked and best maintained 
battlefield in the world. Brevet Lieut. Col. 
|ohn P. Nicholson, a native and still a resident of 
Philadelphia, was in the advance line, 28th Penna. 
Infantry, 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 12th Corps, 
on Gulp's Hill in the second day's fight. Col. 
Nicholson, chairman of the commission since its 
organization, and now the only surviving one of 
the original appointees, has made the develop- 
ment, beautifying and maintenance of the park 
his principal life work. 




BREVET LIEUT.-COl . JOHN I'. NICIIOISON, U. S. V,. OF 
PHH ADEl.l'lllA 

Veteran of the l.,iiil, , ; ( ,. i : . 1,1. .: i I, nin, I ih, 1., iin- 

burg National P;irk( ^..1: .■! ■■•" ■-'■■' -..ili, i--s- 

ent time. Col. Nii Iv .1 -■. I I: s . r :-( I,,, i , .1 1 1,. M^'-inv 

Order of the Loval Ia^-.i, .-I 'I,, 1 ,p:, ,1 ^: ,; , . I, ,, •-^^,,,,-. n.lK,- 
corder of the Commandery, Stat. ..I I', misvlvania. Ir..m IS"., t,, ,latc 

Brevet Lieut. Col. F. B. Cope, engineer of the 
commission since its establishment, was aide-de- 
camp on the stafl^of (len. Ci. K. Warren, who was 
previously Gen. Meade's chief engineer. At the 
time of the battle. Col. Cope was a topographer 
at Meade's headquarters, afterwards detailed by 
that general to make a complete survey and map 
of the field. 



Gettysburg 




HKI \ I r I II HI ( ()i I li c;()i>i, 

EnginoLT of tlu- Gcllysburn Niitifiiijil l*ark Cornmission since its organ- 
ization. Col. Cope's commission as an olliecr in tlie Civil War was 
signed by President Lincoln 

From these were desigiud and in.uli tin nliet' 
maps of the hattlefield, on e.xhihirion ;ir the oHicis 
of the commission, second floor, Feikral Iniildinfi, 
(lettysbiirg, seen and admired h\- visitors from all 
parts of the world. They are a lasting monu- 
ment to his active mind, detailed knowledge of 
the suhject, technical skill and industry. Col. 
Cope h;is h;id in personal ch;nge the work of c:i!- 
rying out the details, which h;ive had his undi- 
vided attention and untiring tHnits dining all 
these years. 

Mr. William ('. Storrick has been with the com- 
mission for 1 1 \ e;irs, hrst in chiirge tif the K;ist Cav- 
alry Field, atterwards transferred to the heatl- 
(|iiarters of the commission in (Jettyshurg, pro- 
moted to h)rester, and given charge ot the 1'^ 
farms on U. S. land. He has rendered long, ex- 
pert and loyal services, and is thoroughly posted 
in the history of the Cicttyshiirg campaign. Mr. 
K. M. Hewitt has heen since 1S9.^ assistant engi- 
neer in the topographical work of the battlefield. 

M()NL'Mi:nts .\ni) M.\rki;rs: mmiu.u .\m) ci .ass- 

!1IC.\TK)N 

1 he first mdiiument erected was m 1S7'J to rhc 
2nd Massiichusetts regiment. Others soon fol- 
lowed, hut the larger number and most elaborate 
have been placed in recent ye;irs. Only perm;i- 
nent bron/.e or granite monuments or markers 
are pcrmittitl. 

According to the last ofhciiil statement (191S| 
the intantr\ and cavalry battlefields owned by 
the government and private parties aggregate 
24,460 acres, of which the L'liited States now 



owns 2.428.95 acres, and 45. fX) acres have been 
ceded by Pennsylvania for paved roads. The 
avenues and piked roads within the National 
Military Park total .i4.25 miles, and the earth 
roads 24.00 miles, making a total of 5<S.25 mile's. 
On these roads are 25 bridges of steel, concrete or 
granite, single or double arch, and 10 concrete 
culverts. 

A total of 837 nl(^nlmll nts have been t rected 
by states and organi/.itions. 1 here are 5 bronze 
equestrian stiitues, 26 bronze statues standing on 
pedestals, 27 bronze statues on monuments, and 
21 granite statues on monuments. Of a total of 
927 bronze reliefs and tablets, 172 are on monu- 
ments and 755 not on monuments. There are 
442 iron tablets, .^21 granite t;iblets, and 417 
guns on carnages, caissons antl limbers. 

1 he gathering of opposing forces from many 
directions through so large a territory, before and 
duriim almost the entire battle, and the distance 
between the localities where the principal en- 
gagements (including those of the cavalry) took 
place, account for the extensive area included in 
the fighting zone. From many points of obser- 
vation, a splendid array of monuments, markers 
and tablets extends farther than the eye can 
reach. The Large number dediciited to the mem- 
ory of southern ofHcers and soldiers, and the nam- 
ing of one of the most important thoroughfares 
"Confederate Avenue." testify to the mag- 
nanimous spirit of the .American people. 

Union and Confederate memorials have been 
erected m their most apjiropriate places; and in 
the preparation of reading matter on the tablets, 
equal care has been taken to give a correct ac- 
count of the movements and exploits of the blue 
and the gra\-. Such recognition of valor and sac- 
rifices on both sides, with the motives which 
prompted or animated them easilv found and 
tiaceil in the best, impartial histories, impress 
the thoughtful visitor. The same plan is exem- 
plified in the Official War Records. Through the 
perspective of 57 years, during which sectional 
feelings have practically disappeared, we are en- 
abled to see that campaign in its true proportions 
and correct relations. 

One of the most valuable lessons has been that 
variations in climate and differences in political 
opinions have not affected the valor of the Amer- 
ican soldier. It ma\' not be too much to say that 
some long-ripemng fruits of (letryslnirg have been 
gathered on Furopean battlefieUls, where thous- 
ands of grandsons of veterans who wore the blue 
and the gray fought side by side under the flag em- 
blematic of a stronger and more perfect Union 
than was known in the earlier history of the coun- 
try, (lettvsburg is a visible inspiration for large 
numbers unlikel\- to see such memorials as may, 
in future years, be elected on foreign soil to the 
.American soldier. 

Soldi KRs' N.ation.m, Ckmhthrv 

The old cemeterv, dating back to the early set- 
tlement, is a short distance down the angle of the 
Baltimore Pike ;md Taneytown road. Sloping 
toward the south from about the toji of Ceme- 



Gettysburg 



St.: and one square farther on comes to a promi- 
nent fork, where the Lincoln Highway branches 
diagonally right, while Springs Ave. continues a 
short distance straight ahead. The latter starts 
a connecting road from this route to Fairfield, 
Waynesboro and Hagerstown, using a section of 
Springs Ave. and a short piece of Confederate 
Ave., into the Hagerstown Road, farther out than 
we can see it. 

In the fork, just as we curve right, is the monu- 
ment erected by Pennsylvania to represent Co. A, 
26th Kmergency Regiment, on the roll of which 
were the names of more than halt the students of 
Gettysburg College. This was the first company 
to respond to the call of Gov. Curtin for volun- 
teers to assist in opposing the Confederate inva- 
sion of the North in the early summer of 1S63 
Hastily gathered militia, of which this was a 
part, corresponded somewhat to the various 
"Home Guards" raised locally by several states 
as reserve forces during the world war. 

The boyish figure was designed to recall the 
"Minute Man" of Le.xington, Mass.; and to em- 
phasize the fact that these college youth were as 
prompt to hear the call for volunteers as the men 
and boys of 1775. On the spot where it is now 
located, the "College Company" formed before 
it marched out to meet the Confederate forces 
then coming eastward along this same road toward 
Gettysburg. .Adjutant Harvey W. McKnight of 
that regiment (class of '65), afterwards became 
president of Pennsylvania College. 




J-bula bi 1 lljlvn. OcHls/jli, 

ON THE GETT-lSBURG BATTLEFIELD 



Ave. on Little Round Top. During the battle this 
ble to horses and vehicles; so the heavy guns had to 
mmit of Little Round Top by hand. The large tree 
was maimed by Confederate artillery 



Over to the right, beyond the Western Mary- 
land Railway, is Pennsylvania Hall, oldest build- 
ing in the college group, on the highest ground in 
the immediate locality. In the forenoon of July 
1, several Union officers used its tower for obser- 
vations. During the afternoon, the fighting 
raged not onlv along the main highway, but also 
through these grounds, which were between Sem- 
inary Ridge and the Mummasburg, Carlisle and 
Harrisburg roads north of the town, and thus 
traversed by the contending forces. 

Gen. Lee, who had come over South Mountain 
eastward from Cashtown by the ne.xt few miles of 
our route, was quick to take advantage of this 
lookout after the Federal cavalry, which had 
opened the battle, and the infantry, brought up 
hastily to support it, had both been driven back 
into or east of the town by superior numbers of 
Confederate infantry. During the turther pro- 
gress of the battle and for several months after- 
wards, this building was used for hospital pur- 
poses, caring for the wounded on both sides. The 
national commission in charge of the 50th anni- 
versary celebration had its headquarters on the 
campus of this college, July 1-4, 1913. 

Landmarks Along the Chambersburg Pike 

Back of the monument to the memory of the 
young college soldier is the Meade School, a large 
brick building, named after the Union general; 
we leave it on the left and cross the Round Top 
branch, Harrisburg & Gettysburg (Reading) R.R. 
On Seminary Ridge, a short distance south of the 
highway, are the old and the new buildings of the 
Lutheran Theological Seminary, an institution 
daring back to 1825, and from which the famous 
ridge was named. The cupola of the older build- 
ing was the first Union lookout, where Gen. Bu- 
fortl met Gen. Reynolds on the morning of July 1, 
early in the first day's fight; though afterwards 
Pennsylvania Hall, of (iettysbiirg College, the 
Court House and other buildings in the town were 
used for the same purpose. 

On the left-hand side, almost exactly a mile 
from the Square. Gettysburg, is the small old 
stone building widely but incorrectly known as 
Lee's headquarters after his arrival in the neigh- 
borhood ;ibout 4 P. M., on July 1. In front of it, 
facing the road, is a "C. S. A." marker, reading as 
fiillows: "In this field was located the headquar- 
ters of the Army of Northern Virginia, July 1, 2, 
3 and 4, 1863."' 

This is supplemented by a ciuotation taken, 
probably, hom some later documenr, "My head- 
quarters were in tents in an apple orchard back ot 
the Seminary, along the Chambersburg Pike. R. 
E. Lee." Neither the tablet itself nor the quota- 
tion just given mentions the building; and most 
of the story about it is traditional. During the 
next 48 hours alter he reached this locality, the 
Confederate commander was at many places 
throughout the battle area^ W. H. Tipton, the 
wartime photographer, writes as follows: 

The lunise known as "Lee's headquarters" was oc- 
cupied by an old lady named Thompson. When I 
photographed it after the battle, she said that a Con- 



Gettysburg 



tcry llill, it is not visililf to one passinj; i;ist ;in(l 
west through the town. On tlu- nortli side- ot the 
oltl ccinctcrv. slopinfi north (lacinfj (icttyslniri;). 
an- the National C'enu-tery grountls. 1 he site, a 
eorntielil at the time of the battle, has lieen 
ehangeil Uy long care and great skill into an ini- 
|iosinu anil apjiropriate memorial. 

I his project, alwavs sejiarati' from the move- 
ment to mark the hattletield, also had its inctp- 
tion at (jettysburg; and vsas, in tact, incorporated 
mon' than a month before (lov. Ciirtin approved 
the act establishinsi the Battleheld Memorial As- 
sociation. I he monument occiipxinu the s|iot 
where President Lincoln delivered the (lettysburg 
Address, was dedicated July 1, 1S69. with an ad- 
dress by (leneral Meade, an oration by (iov. Mor- 
ton, of Indiana, and an ode by Bayard Taylor. 
It is 60 feet high, 25 feet square at the base, and 
is crowned by a statue representing the genius of 
liberty; above the base, at the four corners, are 
allegorical statues represent uig w.ii. peace, plent\ 
and history. 

The grounds, laid out in something more than 
half a circle, arc di\ideii into IS sections, repre- 
senting the 17 northern states and Maryland, 
which had soldiers on both sides. Separate sec- 
tions cont.iin the unknown dead and the U. S. 
regulars. In all, .>,59() are calculated to have been 
interred here. New ^ iirk State is represented by 
the largest number, S61. and Pennsylvania is 
next. In 1872 this cemetery was transferred to 
the- I'lderal government, and is now under the di- 
rection ot the (Juartermaster's Department, nut 
within the National Park Commission. 

So far as known, no Confederate soldiers were 
buried at Ciettysburg. Most of the wounded 
w^ere taken away by Lee's retreating armies; 
others were returned to their hoines after conva- 
lescing in the hospitals maintained here for sev- 
eral months .liter the battle. The bodies of those 
who ilied while in the hospital were sent south tor 
burial after the w:ir. 

Ar TMi- FiFiiiTii Annivkksarv 

I he semi-ceiuennial ot rh( b.ittle. June 2^>-]u- 
ly 5, 191.1, was the occasion ot a gre;it reunion be- 
tween survivors ot the campaign of 1S6.?. For 
ab()Ut si.x months, a commission appointed by the 
Feder;il govtnrment made ehiborate preparations, 
which incliuled the erection of a "tent citv" to ac- 
commodate about ,S(),(K)()old soldiers. The govern- 
ment and the several states, north and south, 
made generous appropri;itioiis, so that every vet- 
eran who cared to go, and could stand the iouriiev, 
was taken to Ciettyslnirg, entertained there ;ind 
returned home without cost. Several states have 
published the story of their part in this great and 
iinKiue patrii)tic celebration. 

During these days, men who fought each other 
htty years betore fraternized like long-lost broth- 
ers. Often, as they "messed" together, the air 
reverberated with the singing of their old-time 
war songs. The survivors of Pickett's charge 
staged a repetition of their mighty effort of July, 
'63, and on the very spot where they were met a 



h;iil of lead, they clasped hands with some of the 
men who had defended the Union center in that 
critical hour. Others set out to hnd their former 
trails up Round Tops, Cemetery Hill or Ciilp's 
Hill, only to discover that, in many cases, they 
had been superseded by hist-class roads. 

It w;is a genuine reunion, such as veterans of 
the war between the states can never witness 
again. The iienehts of that celebration have 
since been felt throughout the United States, and 
it is generally conceded that it marked the last 
stage of the reconstruction which ."MMMbam Lin- 
coln had hoped for but w:is not permitted to live 
to see. "We ;ne not enemies, but triends." w;is 
never better e.xempHHed than on that occasion. 

liiROLiCH rill-: wi;sii:i<N i-.nd oi- thi-: B.\rii.i;nKi.iJ 

The first three miles out of Ciett\sburg toward 
the west are within the battlefield area; and sev- 
eral landmarks along the roadsitle will recall the 
fighting on the first and second days. From the 
Siiuare at the business center, the tourist follows 
.Main, or Chambersburg St., crossing Washington 




Pbotu hy Til Ion, Cellyshurf 



Slauir uf Gill. Robert E. Lc- im his fni 
linurcs at thf bust- rcprcsi-nt the ihrc 
fiimry. Cavalry and Artillery 



27 



Gettysburg 




federate officer witli his staff called and asked it she 
would prepare a lunch for them. While this was be- 
ing done, he wrote and sent off a few orders. .After 
lunch another order was written and sent as betorc. 

When ready to leave, one of the officers asked what 
her charges were. She replied "nothing." The offi- 
cer then said, "Gen. Lee and the rest of us have en- 
joyed the excellent meal you prepared, and the Gen- 
eral wishes that you be paid for it." She refused to 
accept any payment; but requested that she and her 
property be protected. Mrs. Thompson said that 
Lee was in her house about an hour. 

Monuments and markers are now so frequent 
along and nearby both sides of the highway that 
none attract particular attention until we come 
to the equestrian figure of Gen. Reynolds, on the 
north side, about a third mile west of Lee's 
"headquarters." 1 hat monument, a statue of the 
cavalry commander. Gen. John Buford, the mon- 
ument of the 2nd Maine Battery part-way between 
them; and, across the road, markers to the 149th 
Pennsylvania Infantry and Battery A, 2nd U. S. 
Artillery, form a sightly, distmctive and notable 
group. " 

Gen. Reynolds was killed in front of the woods 
on the McPherson farm, a short distance south of 
this portion of the highway; subsequently the 
name was changed to Reynolds Woods. The 
grove, identified by a marker, is visible to one on 
the lookout for it from our route. Between the 
highway and Reynolds Woods is the statue of 
John Burns, the old man who fought as a citizen, 



and other monuments. 

In this vicinity the battle of Gettysburg was 
begun, by Calef's Battery. Co. A, 2nd U. S. 
Artillery, though there is some difference of opin- 
ion even on that point. During one of the large 
gatherings connected with the .SOth anniversary 
celebration, July, 1913, participating veterans 
stoutly claimed that honor for both Pennsylvania 
and New York; and one speaker predicted that, 
"it will never be known positively who started 
the battle." 

A short distance beyond this group of land- 
marks, the highway crosses a small stone bridge 
over Willoughby Run. On the left, in the first 
corner beyond the stream, is a farmhouse, form- 
erly Herr's Tavern, named from the original 
owner, and kept at the time of the battle by Jacob 
Mickley. 1 here were several other taverns in 
the Gettysburg section before the railway era, 
particularly on the routes leading in from Balti- 
more and out towards Chambersburg. Usually 
they were located at intervals of a mile or less; 
practically all of them have either been disman- 
tled or are now private residences. 

Last Views of the B.^ttlefield Are.^l 

Starting two squares west of the center of Get- 
tysburg, an 8-mile straightaway of the Lincoln 
Highway ascends a gradual grade, from along 
which are interesting glimpses of the town and 



29 



Gettysburg 






>»»V'' 7 Park ,^ 

-' A ■■"' 








(;i;|-r'isiniKC wi^si' riiROUf.ii rm- ( asiiiown pass oi^ souiii mountain 



fiivirons. Oiu- wIki Ikis alicaily itiintituil tin- 
principal ropojiiapliKal tiatiiits, C'ulp's Hill, 
Ct-nu'ti-rv Hill, tin- Roiiiul Tops and Senunarv 
Ridgi', will find tlusc- tinal \ifwsot firtat inttiist; 
and tin- |irt-liniinaiv mditary movements will be 
more thoroughly understood from these new 
points of vantage. Passing through this locality, 
the tourist will see (jettvshurg as the soldiers in 
Lee's arm\' did w h( n they are saiti to have liter- 
ally darkened the road from South Mountain to 
the fair landscapes, soon to In- turned inro a world- 
famous battlefield. 

Over to the right, almost parallel with the high- 
way but in a deep cur tor considerable distance, 
is the Western Maryland Railway. Projected 
about 1S4() to connect south-central Pennsylva- 
nia with Hagersrown, Md., the Potomac river 
and the Baltimore ik Ohio R. R., this line, aban- 
doneil for a long period, came to be known face- 
tiously as "the 1 ape-worm." F.arly in the battle 
of (lettysburg, part of the contest was carried 
across this cut; and several markers are north ot 
it. After the war, the project was revived on a 
sounder basis; and what is now the Gettysburg 
line of the Western Maryland was built through 
Fairfield and Waynesboro to Hagerstown. 

(lettysburg has begun to grow dim in the dis- 
tance before we come to the last few markers on 
the western end of the battlefield. Three miles 
out. We note on the north side of the highway a 
tablet upon which it is stated that C'apt. Jones, 




\VlUtl.\ KNOWN AS "1 1:KS 1 ILAIJOUAK 1 1:KS" 



Small old slum- dwelling, 
tysbvirj;. whrrt" Gun Let- a 
Thompson 



nuiii lilKh%vav wfst iif Gtt- 
LTvcd with aluncli by Mrs. 



With Sergt. Shafer's Carbine Co. K, <Sth Illinois 
Cavalrv, (iambic's Brigade, fired the first shot at 
7:.?() A.' M., July 1, 1863. I'hat conflicts in some 
details with what we have learned heretofore; 
and especially when running f)fF the held, the av- 
erage tourist is content to leave such points to the 
critics. 

Our .iltention is :irrested lor a moment, how- 
ever, b\ the last tablet of all, on the north side of 
the highway about l-.ird mile west of the Capt. 
Jones marker. Ibis perpetuates the memory of 
the 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Infantry, of 
which the "college company." already mentioned, 
was a part. Here, on the morning of June 26rh, 
that regiment met the Confederate advance, 
K;irlv's division of Kwell's corps, marching from 
South Mountain toward the Siisipiehanna river. 

Brushing aside that slight resistance. Early 
pushed rapidly through, stojiping at (lettysburg, 
Liter I liar same day, long enough to assess a ran- 
som, but not w;iiting to collect it. Minor casual- 
ties among the hastily assembled volunteers at 
this outpost, June 26, were the first in the battle- 
field area. Ihe Confederate corps commander 
returned a few days later to put his men into the 
fight; but the )510,()00 in cash and large quantity 
of provisions he expected to secure were never 
again demanded. 

Beyond the farthest m;irker, the highway is 
carried over .Marsh creek by a low stone and rail- 
fence bridge; about a I2 mile farther on it crosses 
the Western Maryland Railway for the last time, 
.^fter following for several miles southwest along 
the eastern base of South Mountain, the railroad 
winds through that range below Fairfield, Pa., 
nearbv where Lee's retreating armies crossed it on 
their way back to the Potomac. From thence, 
ir continues through Hagerstown to Antietam, 
linking together Ciettysburg and Antietam, the 
turning points of rht two Confederate invasions 
of the North > 1S62 .md ISr.'M. 

Ui' TO AND Ihrouch Cashtown 

We are now beyond the battlefield area, though 
still in the zone of military movements leading up 
to Ciettysburg. 

Looking ahe:id, the tourist may now begin to 
see in the distance the eastern entrance to South 
Mountiiin gap, occupied by Cashtown village, 



30 



Gettysburg 



into which the highway comes without deviating 
from a straight Hne since leaMng Gettysburg. 
This is the most direct section of its length between 
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, recalling the "Long 
Stretch" on the National Road west of Frost- 
burg, Maryland, though the latter is less than half 
as long as this approach to South Mountain from 
the east. On the wide expanse of nearly level 
ground in front of the gap. or pass, Lee hoped and 
planned to fight the battle which took place at 
Gettysburg; and in fact wrote, as late as the 
morning of July 1, from his camp west of South 
Mountain, to the cavalry leader, Imboden, "My 
headquarters for the present will be at Cashtown, 
east of the mountain." 

The strategy of this plan becames apparent 
from even passing observation ot the locality. 
Back of a strong (Confederate army concentrated 
at this point would have been a natural, easily- 
traveled highway to and from the Cumberland 
Vallev, rising very gradually from 745 feet at 
Cashtown to 1,334 feet at the highest point, a short 
4 miles almost directly west. Had the Army of 
the Potomac faced Lee here, on the grounds chosen 
by him, the .Army of Northern Virginia might have 
overcome it, and continued east and southeast, tak- 
ing Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. 

If defeated in such a position, Lee could have 
held this long nt)rrow gap with a small force, mov- 
ing his main army back into the Cumberland \ al- 
ley, and thence to the Potomac crossings. But 
that was not to be, for Heth's division, the advance 
of A. P. Hill's corps, had already pushed on to the 
eastern edge of Gettysburg, encountering Buford's 
Union cavalry. Ihe battle was then on — at a place 
less favorable for the Confederates; and Cashtown 
just missed its only chance to become famous. 

As soon as he learned the real situation, Lee 
galloped eastward over the 7 miles from Cashtown 
to Seminary Ridge, arriving at the western end ot 
the battlefield in the afternoon of July 1, as re- 
called in connection with the first day's fight. 
Though much shorter, that ride must have been at 




EduarJ Paunch. SculjM 



SOLDIER. 26th PENNSYLVANIA EMERGENCY REGIMENT 

Located in angle formed by Lincoln Highway branching right, in leav- 
ing Gettysburg for the long straightaway toward the west 

least as dramatic as Sheridan's, in the Shenandoah 
valley, somewhat more than a year later. In an 
hour of supreme responsibility, his plans had to be 
largely re-made to cope with new and unexpected 
developments over a large area. 

This is our last glance backward at Gettysburg, 
though in running through the gap to Chambers- 
burg, we will pass the locations where oncoming 
corps and divisions of the Confederate army 
camped or halted on their way eastward. On the 
evening of June 29, Heth's division ot A. P. Hill's 
corps was here at Cashtown, Hill's other two 
divisions being either en route through the gap, 
or in camps west of the mountains. Still farther 
west, but likewise marching east, were two divi- 
sions ot Longstreet's corps, Pickett's divisu)ns hav- 
ing been left at Chainbcrsburg to guard the trains 
and keep open communication until brought to 
Gettysburg to make the fatal charge ot July 3. 




Pbolo liy Tiplon^ Gettysburg 



Showing knoll 

in the battle of Gettysburg. 

New York State. liJOZ 



PoUcr nnil Fnn 
SLOCUM AVENUE. GULPS HILL. GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD 
pied by Stevens' Battery, and equestrian monumerit of Major-Gen. Henry W. Slo 



ng in Sherman's army operating in the So 



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